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(Breat Commanbcrs 

EDITED BY JAMES GRANT WILSON 



GENERAL GREENE 



TLbc (Breat Commanders Series. 


Eo 

Admiral 


TED BY General James Grant Wilson. 


Farragut. 




By Captain A. T. Mahan, U. S. N. 


Zachary Taylor. | 




By General O. O. Howard, U. S. A. 


General 


Jackson. By James Parton. 


General 


Greene. 


By Captain Francis V. Greene, U. S. A. 1 




/N PREPARATION. 


General 


J. E. Johnston. 




By Robert M. Hughes, of Virginia. 


General 


Washington. 




By General Bradley T. Johnson. 


General 


Sherman. 




By General Manning F. Force. 


General 


Grant. 




By General James Grant Wilson. 


General Scott. | 




By General MARCUS J. Wright. 


Admiral 


Porter. 


By James R. Soley, late Assist. Sec. of Navy. | 


General 


Lee. 




By General Fitzhugh Lee. 


General 


Thomas. 




By Henry Coppee, LL. D. 


General 


Hancock. 




By General Francis A. Walker. 


General Sheridan. 1 


New Yo 


By General Henry E. Davies. 


rk : D. Appleton & Co., i, 3, & s Bond St. 



GREAT COMMANDERS 

• • • • 



Z/ 



GENERAL GREENE 



BY ^ 

FRANCIS VINTON GREENE 

AUTHOR OF 

THE RUSSIAN ARMY AND ITS CAMPAIGNS IN TURKEY IN 1877-78, 

THE MISSISSIPPI (campaigns OF THE CIVIL WAR), 

ARMY LIFE IN RUSSIA, ETC. 





NEW YORK 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1893 



t 



Copyright, 1893, 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 



A!/ rights reserved. 



V 



^^^^ 



CONTENTS. 



^ ^ J 



L^ 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. — Antecedents and Education, 1742-1770 . . i 

II. — Early Life in Rhode Island, 1770-1775 . . 10 

III. — Boston and Long Island, 1775-1776 . . .23 

IV. — Fort Washington, 1776 43 

V. — The Jerseys, 1776-1777 60 

VI. — The Brandywine and Germantown, 1777 . . 76 
VII. — Appointed Quartermaster General — Valley 

Forge — Monmouth and Newport, 1777-1778 . 94 
VIII. — Quartermaster General — Springfield, 1778- 

1780 118 

IX. — Resigns as Quartermaster General — West 

Point, 1780 141 

X.— Takes Command of the Southern Army, 1780 . 161 
XI. — The Retreat to the Dan and the Battle of 

Guilford Court House, 1781 . . . .191 
XII. — The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill and the Siege 

OF Ninety-Six, 1781 228 

XIII. — The Battle of Eutaw Springs and the close 

OF THE Southern Campaign, 1781-1783 . . 263 

XIV. — Closing Years and Death, i 783-1 786 . . 303 

Index 321 





^? 





LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FACING PAGE 

Portrait of Nathanael Greene . . . Frontispiece 

From the painting by Charles Wilson Peale. 

The Engagement at Harlem Heights 48 

From The Campaign of 1776 around New York, by Henry P. 
Johnston, published by the Long Island Historical Society. 

Fort Washington 58 

From The Campaign of 1776 around New York, by Henry P. 
Johnston, published by the Long Island Historical Society. 

Operations at Newport . .116 

From Marshall's Life of Washington. 

Theater of Operations in the Southern Campaign . . 190 

The Battle of Guilford Court House 226 

From Johnson's Life of Greene. 

The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill 242 

From Johnson's Life of Greene. 

The Siege of Ninety-Six 258 

From Johnson's Life of Greene. 

The Battle of Eutaw Springs 276 

From Johnson's Life of Greene. 



LIST OF AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. 



Life of Nathanael Greene, by George Washington Greene, 3 
vols., 1871. 

Life of Greene, by William Johnson, 2 vols., 1822. 

Life of Nathanael Greene, by Charles Caldwell, i8ig. 

Life of Nathanael Greene, by W. G. Simms, 1849. 

Life and Writings of George Washington, by Jared Sparks, 12 
vols., 1858. 

Correspondence of the American Revolution, by Jared Sparks, 
4 vols., 1853. 

Life of Washington, by John Marshall, 2 vols., 1832. 

Life of Washington, by Washington Irving, 5 vols., 1859. 

Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department, by General 
Henry Lee, 1813. 

Campaign of 1781 in the Carolinas, by Henry Lee, third edi- 
tion, 1824. 

Battles of the United States, by Henry B. Dawson, 2 vols, 1858. 

Field Book of the Revolution, by Benson J. Lossing, 1859. 

Battles of the American Revolution, by Henry B. Carrington, 
1876. 

Campaign of 1776 around New York, by Henry P. Johnston, 
published by the Long Island Historical Society, 1878. 

Life of Steuben, by Friedrich Kapp, 1859. 

Life of General Kalb, by Friedrich Kapp, 1884. 

Life of Knox, by Francis S. Drake, 1873. 

Treason of Charles Lee, by George H. Moore, i860. 

History of the Independence of the United States, by William 
Gordon, 4 vols., 17S8. 

History of the American Revolution, by David Ramsay, 3 
vols., 1793. 

Journals of the American Congress, 1774-1788, 4 vols., 1823. 

The Clinton-Cornwallis Controversy, by Benjamin F. Stevens, 

2 vols., 1888. 

History of the Campaigns of 17S0 and 1781, by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Tarleton, 1787. 

History of the American War, by C. Stedman, 2 vols., 1794. 

Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War, by Alexander Garden, 
1822. 



GENERAL GREENE. 



CHAPTER I. 

ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION. 

Nathanael Greene was born in 1742, ** on the 
27th day of the fifth month," according to the entry 
in his father's diary. The Gregorian Calendar was 
not adopted in England or its colonies until ten years 
later, and March was then considered the first month. 
His birth was therefore on August 7, 1742. He was 
of the fourth generation of the descendants of John 
Greene, surgeon, of Salisbury, England, whose ances- 
tors had lived for several generations in Dorsetshire, 
and are referred to in the parish records of births, 
marriages, and deaths, as gentlemen and landed pro- 
prietors. John Greene sailed from Hampton in the 
ship James, on April 5, 1635, and landed at Boston 
sixty days later. Like many others, he had left Eng- 
land in order to make his home in a land where he 
could worship God according to his own conscience; 
but he soon discovered that the theocratic govern- 
ment of Massachusetts Bay was more intolerable 
than that of the land he had left. He therefore fol- 
lowed Roger Williams into the wilderness, and aided 
him to found the colony of Rhode Island. The serv- 



2 GENERAL GREENE. 

ices of this little community in establishing civil and 
religious liberty have not received in public estima- 
tion the credit to which they are entitled. The col- 
ony was so small that it was overlooked among its 
more powerful neighbors, but " tall oaks from little 
acorns grow." The opinions of Roger Williams were 
shared by such an infinitesimal minority of mankind, 
two hundred and fifty years ago, that it was neces- 
sary that they should first be put into practice by 
a small community ; and it is the glory of Rhode 
Island that the opmions of this handful of settlers 
on Narragansett Bay should now be the foundation 
principle of government among more than one hun- 
dred millions of English-speaking people scattered 
over the four quarters of the globe. 

The principles on which Roger Williams founded 
his colony were : the right of every man to worship 
God according to the dictates of his own conscience ; 
the right of the people to choose their own public 
ofifiicials of all classes; and the right of property — 
which last is upheld by all governments, but was 
carried so far by Williams that he denied the au- 
thority of any one to give or receive original titles 
to land in America without the consent of the Indians 
as primary owners. These rights were fully and com- 
pletely secured by the charter for Providence Plan- 
tations which Williams secured from the Earl of 
Warwick and his associates under the Protector in 
1643, and in that which Clarke secured from Charles 
II in 1663 for Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
tions. The latter charter gave such complete civil 
and religious liberty, that, when the colonies revolted 
in 1776, and the others formed their State constitu- 
tions, it was only necessary in Rhode Island to pass 



ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION. 3 

an act of the Assembly substituting allegiance to the 
colony for allegiance to the King. No other change 
was necessary in its fundamental law, and under this 
charter its affairs were successfully administered, un- 
til 1843. 

With Williams and Clarke and Gorton, John 
Greene helped to found this colony. He was in the 
first company to follow Williams from Salem, and he 
arrived at Providence in the spring of 1636, bringing 
with him his wife and five children — four sons and 
an infant daughter. Williams had bought his land 
at Providence from the Indian chiefs who owned it, 
and he conveyed it for a consideration of ^30 to 
his " loving friends and neighbors," twelve in num- 
ber, among whom was John Greene. Five years later 
John Greene, in company with a few others from 
Providence and a few from Newport, purchased from 
the Indians a tract on the west side of Narragansett 
Bay, about four miles wide and twenty miles long, 
which was at first called Shawomet, but afterward 
named Warwick in gratitude for the kindness shown 
them by the Earl of Warwick, then Governor-in- 
Chief and Lord High Admiral of the Colonies. Here 
John Greene passed the remainder of his days, and 
here his descendants were born. He received his full 
share of persecution from Massachusetts. When in 
1637 he returned to Salem to sell his house, he was 
arrested and thrown into jail for having spoken disre- 
spectfully of the magistrates, and having charged them 
with " usurping the power of Christ over men's con- 
sciences." In 1643, when Massachusetts attempted 
to claim jurisdiction over Shawomet, and seized Gor- 
ton and his neighbors and carried them to Boston 
for trial, Greene was obliged to escape across the 



4 GENERAL GREENE. 

bay to Newport with his sick wife, who died a few 
weeks afterward. In the following year, with Gor- 
ton and Holden, he was sent to England to lay their 
grievances before the Earl of Warwick's Committee, 
and from him they secured a decision in their favor, 
which, though, appealed by Massachusetts, was never 
materially reversed. He died in 1659, his last public 
service being as one of a committee of ten selected 
in 1647 to organize the colony under the charter of 
1643. His son was one of the ten "Assistants" to 
the Governor named for the first year in the charter 
of 1663. 

His descendants multiplied rapidly in Warwick ; 
they married young, lived long, and reared large 
families. Each generation in succession furnished 
men prominent in the community — governors, deputy 
governors, secretaries of the colony, and delegates 
to the General Assembly. Nathanael Greene was 
of the fourth generation of these descendants. He 
was the fifth of a family of nine children — two by a 
first marriage and seven by a second. His father, 
also named Nathanael, was a Quaker preacher of the 
most vigorous as well as the most narrow-minded 
and superstitious type. His son described him in 
after years as " a man of great piety, of an excellent 
understanding, and governed in his conduct by hu- 
manity and kind benevolence, but his mind was over- 
shadowed with prejudice against literary accomplish- 
ments." He was also a large landed proprietor, and 
the owner of a forge, grist mill, flour mill, and saw 
mill, as well as a store for the sale of general mer- 
chandise. The forge and mills had been established 
by his father Jabez, and at his death the property 
passed equally to his six sons without being divided, 



ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION. 



5 



and the business was continued by them. It was 
situated on Potowomut, a peninsula on the west side 
of Narragansett Bay just south of Warwick. In 1741 
a second forge was established by the brothers at 
Coventry, about ten miles northwest of Potowomut, 
and the two establishments continued in operation 
till the close of the century. The property at both 
places gradually passed into the hands of Nathanael 
the preacher, and all of his eight sons were put to 
work in the forges or mills at an early age. At his 
death, in 1771, his sons inherited the property and 
continued the business jointly under the name of 
Jacob Greene & Co., but Nathanael Greene never 
paid any attention to it after he joined the army in 
1775. Its value, exclusive of real estate, was ap- 
praised in 1743 at ;^8,o55, with ;^2,4o8 of uncollected 
debts — a considerable sum in those days. The prin- 
cipal product of the forges was anchors, and these, 
together with the flour made at the mills, were trans- 
ferred across the bay in sloops to Newport, bringing 
back return cargoes of ore and black sand from Penn- 
sylvania, and wheat and coal from Virginia. 

At the age of thirty Nathanael Greene wrote sadly 
to one of his intimate friends : " I lament the want of 
liberal education. ... I was educated a Quaker, and 
among the most superstitious sort; and that of itself 
is enough to cramp the best of geniuses, much more 
mine." Certainly his disposition and temperament 
and sympathies were very different from those of his 
father. The latter was vigorous of mind and body, 
but extremely narrow and prejudiced. He believed 
that no books were worthy of study but the Bible, 
was opposed to war and strife, abhorred worldly 
amusements. The son, on the other hand, had an 



6 GENERAL GREENE. 

active and alert mind, a happy disposition, and a 
strong, well-formed body. He craved knowledge 
from his childhood, possessed a sympathetic nature 
which formed lasting attachments, and was quick to 
resent a fancied injury ; took pleasure in athletic con- 
tests, delighted in society, and, above all, was pas- 
sionately fond of dancing — in spite of the corporeal 
punishment which he invariably suffered when de- 
tected in a sin so peculiarly offensive to Quakers. 
When he attended a military parade in 1773 and pre- 
pared to organize the Kentish Guards, the " meeting " 
gave him three several warnings and asked him for 
an explanation, being reluctant to take extreme meas- 
ures against the son of a father so highly respected ; 
but these warnings had no effect upon him, and he con- 
tinued his military investigations. No alternative re- 
mained but to dismiss him from their communion, 
which they promptly did. All of his differences with 
the Quakers were, however, of small consequence, 
except in the matter of education. This was of last- 
ing importance. His father was one of the most 
prosperous men in the colony, and abundantly able, 
had he so chosen, to give his son a thorough educa- 
tion and send him either to Harvard, Yale, or King's 
College. (Rhode Island College, afterward Brown 
University, was not fully established till he was thirty 
years old.) But his father did not so choose; such 
a course would have seemed to him most sinful. He 
employed an itinerant teacher in the long winter 
evenings to teach his eight boys to read, write, and 
cipher. Having mastered these, the Holy Scriptures 
and the writings of George Fox and Robert Barclay 
were considered as affording all knowledge that was 
needful or useful. Against this programme Nathanael 



ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION. 7 

the younger instinctively rebelled. At the age of 
fourteen he made the acquaintance of a young man 
named Giles, who was passing his college vacation in 
the village of East Greenwich, a short distance from 
his father's home. The result of his conversations 
with Giles about college and books led him to ask 
of his father better means of study ; and after much 
hesitation his father so far yielded as to allow him to 
study geometry and a little Latin under a teacher 
named Maxwell, in East Greenwich. This taste of 
knowledge suggested to the lad that he devise means 
within his own control for procuring books, and ac- 
cordingly he made toy anchors and other toys of 
iron. The next time the sloop took her load of 
wares from the forge and the mill to Newport he 
went in it, and promptly sold his toys for cash. 
With this he proceeded to the bookstore and re- 
marked that he wanted to " buy a book." The book- 
seller sharply asked, " What book ? " And the boy, 
abashed, was unable to reply. But it happened that 
in the bookstore at the same time was the Rev. Ezra 
Stiles, then pastor of the Second Church in Newport, 
and afterward for many years President of Yale 
College. He was much interested in a lad who 
showed such positive but ill-defined desire for knowl- 
edge, and at once began to give him welcome advice 
about the choice of books. Through this kindly as- 
sistance young Nathanael became acquainted with 
Locke on the Understanding and Watt's Elements 
of Logic, which, in connection with Euclid, formed 
strong, wholesome food for an acquiring and eager 
mind of fifteen. In his trips to Newport he also 
formed the acquaintance of Lindley Murray, the fu- 
ture grammarian, who, although younger than himself, 



8 GENERAL GREENE. 

was being well educated and anxious to talk about 
books and studies. In his nineteenth year the death 
of his two stepbrothers led to a law-suit concerning 
the disposition of their property, of so complicated a 
nature that it was sent to England on appeal. His 
father instructed him to collect evidence and confer 
with the lawyers, and this induced him to purchase 
Jacob's Law Dictionary and diligently study it. A 
little later he purchased an Oxford edition of Black- 
stone, in four quarto volumes; then the Dictionary 
of Arts and Sciences, in four volumes. Further addi- 
tions to his stock were made from time to time, but 
it was not until he moved to Coventry and built his 
own house that he could fully gratify his taste for 
books. Then he had a library of two hundred and 
fifty volumes, well chosen and solid books, which had 
cost him no little hard-earned money, and which he 
thoroughly studied, reading many of them over and 
over again — English and Roman History, Vattel and 
Hume, translations of Homer, Csesar, and Horace, But- 
ler's Analogy, Plutarch's Lives, Turenne's Memoirs, 
Ferguson's History of Civil Society, the Spectator, 
Pope, Swift, and Sterne, and others equally good. 

In these days of circulating libraries and count- 
less novels, magazines, and newspapers, we are apt 
to forget that a good education can be obtained 
from a library of one hundred well-selected volumes, 
especially if they be obtained only by persistent 
effort and the sacrifice of time and money. Then 
they are appreciated, are pored over and thought 
out, read and re-read, stored away in the memory 
with an enduring lodgment that no easily-gained 
and lightly-read book can secure. Such a library 
did Nathanael Greene slowly accumulate and ar- 



ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION. g 

dently devour, although to the close of his life he 
felt conscious of the defects of his early education. 
Doubtless he lacked the benefits of mental training 
and discipline, yet he overcame this deficiency, by 
his own unguided and persistent efforts, to such an 
extent that he was never considered by his asso- 
ciates an uneducated man ; he acquired a good style, 
barring certain errors of grammar and spelling which 
were then almost universal ; he wrote lucidly and 
concisely, and was agreeable in conversation. Above 
all, he had a clear mental vision and sound judgment. 
His mind saw realities, and not pictures. 



CHAPTER II. 

EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. 

In the year 1770, when Nathanael Greene was 
twenty-seven years old, his father gave him charge of 
the forge and mill at Coventry. This establish- 
ment had grown to such an extent that over one 
hundred families were dependent on it for their liveli- 
hood, and a local manager was necessary. Nathanael 
Greene moved there, built himself a comfortable 
house, of which the best room was reserved for his 
books, and established himself. Ten years before, 
one of his half-brothers had left him in his will an 
estate in West Greenwich ; with this he had qualified 
under the property test and had been admitted as a 
freeman in Warwick in 1765. Immediately after his 
removal to Coventry he was elected to the General 
Assembly, and he was re-elected in 1771, 1772, and 
1775. His father died a few months after his re- 
moval to Coventry in 1770. 

At the time he took his seat in the Assembly the 
population of the thirteen colonies was about 2,300,- 
coo, and of these, about 55,000, or one fortieth part, 
lived in "The English Colony of Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations." Newport was the principal 
town, having a population of about 11,000, which 
was reduced to less than half that number during 
the Revolutionary War, and which was not regained 



EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. u 

until nearly a century later. It was then exceeded 
only by New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. It 
had an extensive commerce, about two hundred ships 
being engaged in the foreign trade with Europe, 
Africa, and the West Indies, and about four hundred 
in the coasting trade. It imported large amounts of 
sugar and molasses from the West Indies, and ex- 
ported New England rum to Africa. Its surplus 
stock of West India goods was shipped to Boston 
and New York, and there exchanged for British 
manufactures, of which its consumption was valued 
at ;!^i 20,000 a year. Providence had a population 
of less than 4,000, and there were no other towns of 
any importance. But there were several villages 
scattered along its water front, which was singularly 
long in proportion to the area of the colony, and 
the inhabitants of these were for the most part en- 
gaged in maritime commerce in a small way. The 
rest of the population was employed in agriculture, 
though the soil was largely rock and sand, which 
yielded poor returns. The mother country looked 
askance at any attempt to introduce manufactures 
into the colonies, and called sharply for explanation 
of any efforts in that direction. In 1766 the Lords 
Commissioners for Trade and Plantations called for 
" a particular and exact account of the several 
manufactures which have been set up and carried 
on within the colony since the year 1734, and of the 
public encouragement which has been given thereto.'' 
No answer having been returned, in 1768 the Earl 
of Hillsborough, Colonial Secretary, warned the 
Governor "to pay exact obediepce " to the request ; 
and the Governor (Lyndon) humbly replied : " Ten 
forges for making iron out of ore; two furnaces — 



12 GENERAL GREENE. 

one for making iron into pigs and the other for mak- 
ing hollow ware out of ore; six spermaceti works; 
twelve potash works; three rope walks; and one 
paper mill, at which is manufactured wrapping, pack- 
age, and other coarse paper. These, my Lord, are the 
only manufactures which have been set up in the 
colony since the year 1734; and neither for these nor 
for any other manufactures is any bounty or other 
public encouragement given by the colony." Rhode 
Island is now the most densely populated State 
(319 per square mile) on the American continent, 
and three-fourths of its inhabitants are engaged in or 
dependent upon manufactures ; but at the beginning 
of the Revolution none of these had come into ex- 
istence, except a few iron forges and furnaces, of 
which those owned by Nathanael Greene and his 
brothers were the most important. 

In means of education Rhode Island was behind 
its adjoining colonies. Land had been given for the 
support of a school in Newport in 1640, and in 
Providence in 1663, and subsequently in the other 
towns ; but the free public schools had not been 
established until 1768, and then only in the face of 
active opposition on the part of those who would be 
most benefited by them. Harvard had been estab- 
lished in 1636, Yale in 1701, Princeton in 1746, and 
King's College (Columbia) in 1754. Rhode Island 
College (Brown University) was founded in 1764, 
with the primary object of affording education for 
Baptist clergymen. It was first situated in the town 
of Warren, but in 1770 a change was determined upon, 
and the various towns offered subscriptions as an 
inducement to cause its removal. Nathanael Greene 
labored actively to secure it for East Greenwich, but 



EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. 



13 



the subscription of Providence exceeded that of any 
other place, and it was removed there. Failing to 
secure the university for his section of the colony, he 
set to work to establish a public school in Coventry, 
and in this humbler but still useful task he was en- 
tirely successful. 

The local politics of the colony when he took his 
seat in the Assembly had for many years turned on 
the contentions of the rival factions of Hopkins and 
Ward, the standing candidates for Governor. The 
origin of the contest was trivial, but the struggle 
was none the less active and bitter. Greene's family 
was connected by marriage with that of Governor 
Ward, and his sympathies were naturally with that 
faction ; but he does not seem to have taken, any 
very active part in the controversy. In fact, just 
before he entered public life the struggle was brought 
to a close in face of the vital issues then coming for- 
ward in reference to the right of the British Parlia- 
ment to tax the colonies without their consent. Gov- 
ernor Ward was in office when the Stamp Act was 
passed, in 1765, and was the only one of the colonial 
governors who refused to take the oath to enforce 
it. He was re-elected in 1766, but was defeated by 
Hopkins in 1767. At the close of Hopkins's term 
both parties agreed to withdraw from the contest; 
they joined hands in opposing the pretensions of 
Parliament, and henceforth worked together in the 
interests of the colony, which, as it was now evident, 
were tending toward independence from Great 
Britain. They jointly represented the colony in the 
first Continental Congress, and Ward died in Phila- 
delphia in the spring of 1776. 

It does not appear that Nathanael Greene took a 



14 



GENERAL GREENE. 



prominent place in the Assembly during the four 
years in which he was a member of it. One or more 
of his brothers were deputies from Warwick at the 
same time, but no record has been preserved of any 
speeches or acts by any of them which attracted 
special attention. It is probable that he gained in- 
fluence among his fellow-members, for otherwise it 
is impossible to explain the confidence they showed 
in him on the outbreak of the war, but of the details 
there is no record. During this period he formed in- 
timate friendships with two men — Samuel Ward, Jr., 
and James Mitchell Varnum — which lasted through 
life. Ward's father and grandfather had been gov- 
ernors of the colony, and the family had long been 
prominent. Varnum had come from Massachusetts, 
where his father owned property on the Merrimac ; 
after a year at Harvard he had been sent to Rhode 
Island College, and graduated at its first commence- 
ment in 1769. The graduating exercises consisted 
of a " Forensic Dispute " on the question whether it 
was good policy for the colonies " to affect to become 
an independent State." It fell to Varnum's lot to 
argue in the negative, although for the rest of his 
life he fought and argued in the affirmative. The 
debate has escaped the usual oblivion of baccalaure- 
ate efforts, and has been preserved in full. At the 
time it attracted wide attention. In 1771 Varnum 
began the practice of law in East Greenwich. He 
afterward rose to distinction in the army, at the bar, 
on the bench, and in Congress, being particularly 
famous as an orator. Ward had also graduated at 
Rhode Island College, two years later than Varnum, 
and settled at his father's home in Westerly. But 
Governor William Greene and Governor Samuel 



EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. 



15 



Ward had married sisters, and young Ward was a 
frequent visitor at his aunt's house in East Green- 
wich. Lilce Varnum, he served with distinction dur- 
ing the Revolution, but he did not enter political life. 
At the close of the war he removed to New York 
and established himself in mercantile pursuits. 

To both of these young men Nathanael Greene 
was strongly attracted. They were younger than 
himself — Varnum by six years and Ward by fourteen 
years — and from all accounts they were as manly, 
handsome, and fine young fellows as were to be found 
anywhere. But to Nathanael Greene, who was so 
sensitive and almost morbid on the subject of his 
education, their chief attraction was in the fact of 
their being college graduates. This leveled the dif- 
ference of age, and he wrote to them, on terms of 
equality, long letters on morals and manners and the 
theory of the universe — such letters as are common 
among thoughtful men at the collegiate age. " The 
pursuit of virtue where there is no opposition is the 
merit of a common man ; but to practice it in spite 
of all opposition is the character of a truly great and 
noble soul. . . . What I call false modesty is not 
to have resolution to deny an unreasonable request 
or power to oppose a corrupt custom. . . . Have 
you not felt, on seeing or reading of noble deeds or 
generous actions, pleasant emotions mixed with the 
desire of imitation ? These are the advantages that 
spring from choice books and the best of company. 
They inspire the mind to action and direct the pas- 
sions." Evidently he utilized his college friends to 
improve his own education and gain practice in the 
composition of letters. But he was no snob or syco- 
phant. " It is very fortunate for you to be able to 



I 6 GENERAL GREENE. 

enumerate a long train of noble ancestors, but to 
equal the best and excel the most is to have no oc- 
casion for any." 

At this time he fell deeply in love with young 
Ward's sister; but she did not return his affection. 
He took it much to heart, and his letters for several 
months were of the most gloomy and melancholy char- 
acter. But in the following year his spirits revived ; 
he made the acquaintance of Miss Catharine Little- 
field, of Block Island, who was an orphan adopted 
by her aunt, the wife of Governor William Greene, 
at East Greenwich. The acquaintance rapidly passed 
into friendship, love, and marriage. They were mar- 
ried on July 20, 1774, at East Greenwich, and he 
took his bride to his own home at Coventry. She 
was only twenty, while he was nearly thirty-two years 
old at the time of his marriage, but it was a happy 
union, blessed with two sons and three daughters, 
though for eight of the twelve years between his 
marriage and death he was absent in the army. But 
his wife, following the example of Mrs. AVashington, 
joined him several times at the winter quarters dur- 
ing the long struggle. 

During the year of his marriage the strained re- 
lations between the mother country and the colonies 
were rapidly approaching a crisis. The Boston Port 
Bill had passed in the spring, and as soon as news of 
it reached Providence the freemen met and proposed 
the idea of a general congress of the colonies, to de- 
cide on the best means of maintaining their rights. 
The idea was formally approved by the Assembly at 
its meeting in June, and Hopkins and Ward were 
elected the delegates. In order to be able to main- 
tain their views, by force if necessary, military com- 



EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. 



17 



panics were organized in different parts of the colony. 
At the October session of the Assembly, Varnum, 
Nathanael Greene, his kinsman Christopher Greene, 
and Archibald Crary applied for and received a 
charter for an independent company to be formed 
in the towns of East Greenwich, Warwick, and Coven- 
try, and to be known as the " Kentish Guards." 
Varnum was made captain, and Nathanael Greene 
was one of the privates. This little company en- 
joyed the distinction, as the war progressed, of sup- 
plying thirty-two officers to the regular or Continen- 
tal army. 

But Greene had no musket, and could not buy one 
in the colony. He therefore determined to go to 
Boston, ostensibly on business connected with his 
forges; his time, however, was employed on other 
matters. He watched the morning and evening 
parades of the British troops on the Common ; he 
made several visits to Henry Knox's bookstore, and 
bought copies of Caesar's campaigns, Turenne's 
memoirs, and other books; he purchased his musket, 
and he engaged a British deserter to go back with 
him as drill master for the Kentish Guards. He 
and the drill sergeant had to return by different 
routes, and the musket by still another, concealed in 
the straw of a farmer's cart ; but they all arrived in 
safety, and the drilling began. At the December 
session of the Assembly Nathanael Greene, although 
not a member of the Assembly and only a private in 
the Kentish Guards, was appointed one of a com- 
mittee of five — the other four being field officers of 
militia — to revise the militia laws. They reported in 
time for the new law to be passed at the same 
session. 



I 8 GENERAL GREENE. 

Four months later the first blood of the Revolu- 
tion was shed at Lexington. News of it reached 
Providence on the afternoon of April 19, 1775, and 
passing from mouth to mouth and house to house 
with extraordinary rapidity, the report came to 
Nathanael Greene at his home at Coventry after 
nightfall. He immediately mounted his horse and 
rode to the training grounds of the Kentish Guards 
at East Greenwich. The whole company was aroused 
and collected during the night, and at daybreak 
marched for Providence, Captain Varnum at the 
head, and Nathanael Greene with his brothers in the 
ranks with their muskets on their shoulders. They 
passed through Providence early in the morning, and 
on arriving at the colonial boundary line, a few miles 
farther on, they were overtaken by a messenger 
from the Governor with orders to return. The com- 
pany obeyed the order, but Greene, with two of his 
brothers and a third companion, obtained permission 
to go on to Boston, and they started forward on horse- 
back. Later in the day they learned that the British 
troops had returned to Boston, and they therefore 
retraced their steps to Providence, where, on the 22d, 
the Assembly, of which Nathanael Greene had this 
year again been elected a member, met in special 
session. It resolved that an army of fifteen hun- 
dred men should be raised for the defense of the 
colony, and to march out to the aid of other colonies 
if necessary. In order to co-operate with the ad- 
joining colony of Connecticut, a committee of two — 
Nathanael Greene and William Bradford — was ap- 
pointed to confer with the Connecticut Assembly 
concerning details. The Assembly met again on 
May 2d and passed an act in detail for raising the 



EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. jg 

" army of observation " of fifteen hundred men, or- 
ganizing it into a brigade of three regiments, and 
prescribing rules and regulations for its govern- 
ment. A loan of ^^20,000 was authorized to be 
raised by the issue of colonial bills. A Committee 
of Safety was appointed, whose duty it was to "pro- 
vide arms, tents, provisions, and every accouterment 
necessary for the army " ; they were also to pay the 
troops, and, in accordance with the usual practice, 
they were to " be allowed one and a half per cent for 
transacting the business." The committee consisted 
of six members, and among them was Jacob Greene, 
brother of Nathanael. Finally, the Assembly pro- 
ceeded to the election of officers, and Nathanael 
Greene was elected brigadier-general in command 
of the army of observation. Varnum was elected 
colonel of the Third Regiment, which was to be 
raised in and about Warwick ; Christopher Greene, 
the future hero of Red Bank, was elected major of 
this same regiment, and Samuel Ward, Jr., captain 
of one of its companies. The Governor (Wanton) 
had recently been re-elected, but he protested against 
the act for raising the army of observation ; where- 
upon the Assembly promptly suspended him from his 
functions, and directed the secretary of the colony 
to issue the commissions to the officers. They were 
so issued under date of May 8, 1775, and before the 
end of the month the greater part of the little 
** army " was organized and on its march for Boston. 

In the foregoing pages has been recorded prac- 
tically everything that is known of the life of 
Nathanael Greene down to the time when he took 
command of the Rhode Island troops. It can hardly 



20 GENERAL GREENE. 

be called an extraordinary or remarkable career. He 
had gained his education by his own efforts, against 
his father's wishes and almost in spite of his father's 
opposition. He was the managing partner of an iron 
factory which, although it would now seem small, was 
then in fact of the same relative importance to the 
population and wealth of the colony as the largest 
cotton mills are to the State of to-day. He had 
served three terms in the Assembly, and had been a 
member of a few important committees. His travels 
were limited by Boston on one side and New York 
on the other. He had had no military experience 
beyond service for six months as a private in a militia 
company. Suddenly he was elected to command all 
the troops of the colony, at the outbreak of a struggle 
which had been long preparing, and the importance 
of which no one underestimated. His office was, 
next to that of the delegates to the Continental Con- 
gress, the most responsible which the colony had at 
its disposal. What led the Assembly to select Na- 
thanael Greene for that office ? From the records 
which have been preserved no satisfactory answer 
can be made to the question. His ancestor had been 
one of the founders of the colony, but this was one 
hundred and thirty-seven years before, and there 
were hundreds of his kinsmen who enjoyed this slight 
distinction ; and while members of other branches of 
the family had held high office with credit, his im- 
mediate progenitors and his near relatives had not 
been in public life. His only acquaintance or connec- 
tion of much influence in public affairs was Governor 
Samuel Ward, who was in Providence at the session 
of the Assembly in May, 1775, just before leaving for 
Philadelphia, where he took his seat in Congress on 



EARLY LIFE IN RHODE ISLAND. 2 1 

May 15th, Probably he advocated the choice of Na- 
thanael Greene, who was well known to him through 
his intimacy with his son Samuel and otherwise ; but 
of this there is no authentic record. If he did so, he 
not only showed his knowledge of character, but 
performed a signal service to Rhode Island and to 
the future United States. Whether he did so or not, 
the Assembly made the selection by unanimous vote, 
and this would not have been done on any one's rec- 
ommendation unless Greene had already impressed 
his associates in the Assembly as a man who, though 
still young, was possessed of unusual intelligence, 
character, and determination. That the result was 
a most fortunate one, never regretted by the colony 
or the United States, the result abundantly proved. 
That he has now for more than a century been re- 
garded as the most illustrious man that Rhode 
Island has produced, no one will deny. When it 
was a question, in 1S66, of selecting the two fore- 
most men of Rhode Island to be represented by 
statues in the Capitol at Washington, Roger Williams 
and Nathanael Greene were quickly chosen ; but the 
latter solely by reason of what he had done after 
May, 1775. There is no distinct clew to what caused 
his selection for her most important station at that 
time. We can only conjecture that there must have 
been something in his manner and action which im- 
pressed his associates in the Assembly with a sense 
of his ability and integrity, and enabled them in- 
stinctively to discern the qualities for leadership 
which he undoubtedly possessed, and which only 
needed an opportunity for their proper develop- 
ment. 

Whatever the cause, the choice was wisely made ; 



22 GENERAL GREENE. 

and at the age of not quite thirty-three he left his 
home, his young wife, his little manufacturing estab- 
lishment, and his colonial surroundings, to take his 
place among the military leaders in a war of tran- 
scendent importance. 



CHAPTER III. 

BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 

On the 3d of June, 1775, Greene arrived at Boston. 
He had been detained at Providence during the 
month of May, collecting and forwarding his troops, 
and had not been able to visit his home and wife, to 
whom he wrote his farewell, commending her to the 
care of his brothers, from Providence on June 2d. He 
found two of his regiments encamped at Jamaica 
Plain, the third, under command of Varnum, not ar- 
riving until a few days later. The troops were with- 
out discipline or military training, and, although their 
fine tents and the artillery they had brought with 
them from old Fort George at Newport attracted 
much attention, yet they seemed to Greene sadly de- 
ficient in all the essential features of military profi- 
ciency. He set to work with all his energy to remedy 
these defects, instituted daily drills, instructed his men 
in the use of their arms, instilled in their minds the 
rudimentary principles of discipline — in a word, la- 
bored early and late to convert his enthusiastic, patri- 
otic farmer lads into a body of soldiers ; and with such 
success, that by the time Washington reached camp, 
while fully appreciating what they lacked, he was not 
ashamed of them. " Though raw, irregular, and un- 
disciplined," he thought they were " under much 
better government than any round about Boston." 



24 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Colonel Reed, Washington's military secretary, wrote 
not long after that Greene's "command consisted of 
three regiments, then the best disciplined and ap- 
pointed in the whole American army." He did not 
have an opportunity to test their quality at Bunker 
Hill on June 17th, for he was stationed at the opposite 
end of the line, and his troops were not brought into 
that engagement. 

In addition to organizing his little force, he kept 
up a constant correspondence with Governor Ward 
at Philadelphia, who was habitually chairman of 
the Committee on the War. To him Greene wrote 
fully of the condition and requirements of the troops 
gathered around Boston and Ward acted on this in- 
formation in the deliberations of Congress. Greene 
also carried on a daily correspondence with Govern- 
or Cooke, of Rhode Island, concerning the supplies 
and equipment of his troops ; and he wrote frequently 
and fully to his brother Jacob Greene, who was a 
member of the Rhode Island Committee of Safety. 
From this very full correspondence it is possible to 
follow quite closely his life during the nine months 
of the siege of Boston. It contained no striking 
episode. The period was one of preparation and or- 
ganization, and Greene was incessantly hard at work, 
drilling, studying, writing, and thinking ; but the 
fruits of this work were visible not at Boston, but 
in the Jerseys and the Carolinas in the years that 
followed. 

Washington arrived at Cambridge on July 2d, and 
Greene sent a detachment of two hundred men, under 
command of a colonel, with a letter of address to 
welcome him to camp. Washington " returned a 
very polite answer, and invitation to visit him at his 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



25 



quarters." Thus was formed an acquaintance which 
soon grew into a friendship destined to remain un- 
broken, and year by year to grow stronger through- 
out the rest of Greene's life. On the one side it was 
based upon profound respect and admiration, un- 
questioning loyalty, willing obedience, and unbounded 
faith; on the other, upon the fullest confidence, af- 
fection, and esteem. Greene's temper was quick, and 
in his voluminous correspondence he was not slow to 
criticise others, and particularly members of Con- 
gress — sometimes unwisely. But no word of his has 
ever been found in which he expressed a thought of 
jealousy, or lack of faith or confidence in Washing- 
ton. He had already studied with care Washington's 
career in the French wars and the Virginia House of 
Burgesses, and it was a career which peculiarly ap- 
pealed to a man of his temperament and tastes. Per- 
sonal acquaintance only confirmed the high opinion 
he had formed in advance, and this opinion was 
never changed, or even for a moment clouded with 
a doubt. 

The arrival of Washington effected a complete 
transformation in the troops about Boston. They 
ceased to be colonial militia and became the Conti- 
nental army. Four major-generals were appointed 
by Congress — Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip 
Schuyler, and Israel Putnam ; and eight brigadiers — 
Pomeroy, Montgomery, Wooster, Heath, Spencer, 
Thomas, Sullivan, and Greene. Gates was appointed 
adjutant-general. Before the end of the war all of 
these, except Putnam, Gates, Heath, and Greene, had 
disappeared from the army list, and all but Greene 
had ceased to hold active command. The return 
which Washington called for immediately on his 
3 



26 



GENERAL GREENE. 



arrival showed the strength of the army to be as 
follows: 





Regi- 
ments. 


Officers. 


Noncom- 
missioned 
Officers. 


PRIVATES. 




Present 
for duty. 


Total pres- 
ent and 
absent. 


Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

New Hampshire, . . 
Rhode Island 


26 
3 
3 
3 


789 

125 

98 

107 


1,326 

160 
108 


9.396 
2,105 
1,201 
1,041 


11,688 

2.353 
1,644 

1,085 


Total 


35 


1,119 


1,768 


13.743 


16,770 



These were organized into three divisions and six 
brigades. Ward commanded the right at Roxbury 
facing Boston Neck, Lee commanded the left at 
Prospect Hill facing Charlestown Neck, and Putnam 
commanded the center or reserve under Washington's 
own eye at Cambridge. Greene was assigned to the 
second brigade in Lee's division, consisting of the 
three Rhode Island regiments and four from Massa- 
chusetts ; the total strength of his brigade was 
twenty-seven hundred and ninety-eight men. Lines 
of defense were laid out from the Mystic on the 
north to Dorchester on the south, and, in addition to 
constant drills, the men were now engaged in build- 
ing field fortifications. When these were completed 
there were occasional small skirmishes with the 
enemy, but no serious engagement. Washington 
was keenly sensitive to the general desire that he 
should attack Boston, and to the criticisms which he 
anticipated would be made upon him for not doing 
so; but his judgment was against it, and he de- 
clined to entertain the idea of sacrificing his men in 
what he felt confident would be an unsuccessful 
assault. He called several councils of war to discuss 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 27 

the question, and they uniformly sustained his judg- 
ment. Greene, being the junior, next to Gates, was 
obliged to express his opinion first, and it is evident 
that with his ardent temperament he was seeking to 
convince his own mind of the advisability of an 
assault; but still his judgment was always finally 
against it. At the council of October i8th he voted 
" that it is not practicable under all circumstances, 
but if ten thousand men could be landed at Boston, 
thinks it is." Writing to his brother in the following 
February, he expressed the views he had always held — 
viz., that " an attack upon a town garrisoned with 
eight thousand regular troops is a serious object, 
and ought to be well considered before attempted. I 
always thought an attack with twenty thousand men 
might succeed. I still think so; and were the bay to 
be frozen over, I should be glad to see the attempt 
made." But it was neither possible to get an army 
of twenty thousand men nor to land ten thousand in 
Boston. Moreover, there was not enough powder 
for a bombardment preliminary to an assault. What 
little they had must be carefully husbanded for use in 
their muskets in case the enemy made an attack. 
There was nothing to do but to keep at work drill- 
ing and organizing. 

The tedium of this was, however, somewhat re- 
lieved by pleasant social relations. Many of the 
general officers had served in the French wars, and 
were men of distinction in their colonies. They re- 
ceived Greene with much consideration, and he was 
flattered by it, though, in his letter to his brother, he 
is careful to say that he considers these " flattering 
attentions " due to his office and not to himself. " I 
shall study to deserve well, but can not but lament 



28 GENERAL GREENE. 

the great defects I find in myself to discharge with 
honor and justice the important trust committed to 
my care. ... I hope God will preserve me in the 
bounds of moderation, and enable me to support my- 
self with proper dignity, neither rash nor timorous,* 
pursuing a conduct marked by manly firmness, but 
never bordering on phrenzy." In the late autumn 
Mrs. Washington came to camp, and Greene im- 
mediately sent for his wife. She came, bringing with 
her their infant son, born since he had left home, 
who was christened in camp and named George 
AVashington. A warm friendship sprang up between 
Mrs. Washington and Mrs. Greene, which was re- 
newed in subsequent winters at Morristown and 
Valley Forge, and lasted through life. 

In September his friend Ward volunteered to join 
Arnold in his expedition to Quebec. Greene felt it 
incumbent on him to advise him against going, but 
to such a spirited young fellow his formal advice 
counted for nothing in face of his remark that it 
would be " a very pretty tour." Doubtless Ward felt 
that if his rank had been less, Greene himself would 
have been among the volunteers. Ward was taken 
prisoner at the assault of Quebec, and was not ex- 
changed until the following summer. Then he was 
assigned to another part of the army, and Greene 
saw no more of him until they went into camp at 
Valley Forge in December, 1777. 

As the year 1775 drew to its close, so did the 
term of enlistment of the men around Boston. On 
December loth Greene writes to Governor Ward that 

* The motto on the family arms of his English ancestors, " Nee 
timeo nee sperno," was singularly applicable to his character. 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



29 



" the Connecticut troops are going home in shoals 
to-day." New Hampshire, on the other hand, "be- 
haves nobly ; their troops engage cheerfully." The 
Massachusetts troops are also beginning to enlist very 
fast, but he is very solicitous about his own colony. 
" I sent home some recruiting officers, but they got 
scarcely a man. ... I feel for the honor of the 
colony, which I think is in a fair way .... to re- 
ceive a wound. It mortifies me to death that our 
colony and troops should be a whit behind the neigh- 
boring governments in private virtue or public spirit." 
In truth, Rhode Island had undertaken almost 
more than it could carry out. The commerce of 
Newport had been ruined by the British cruisers ; and 
whereas this town formerly paid one sixth of the 
taxes, it was now so reduced that the poor had to be 
supported out of the colonial Treasury. Bristol had 
been bombarded, and Wallace's ships went up and 
down the bay plundering on both shores and on the 
islands. Over seventeen hundred officers and men 
had been sent to Boston and Canada, and now two 
regiments had to be raised for the defense of the 
colony itself. Instead of re-enlisting for the defense 
of Boston, it was a question of protecting their own 
homes. Greene, however, looked at the matter with 
different and perhaps broader views. From the first 
he saw that the contest involved the united colonies, 
and that their independence was at stake ; he felt 
that success could only be gained by united action, 
even if his own colony was the greatest sufferer. He 
wrote to his brother: "We must expect to make 
partial sacrifices for the public good. I love the 
colony of Rhode Island, and have ever had a very 
great affection for the town of Newport; but I am 



30 



GENERAL GREENE. 



not so attached to either as to be willing to injure 
the common cause for their particular benefit." And 
to Governor Ward : " The interests of our colony 
are no ways incompatible with the interests of an- 
other. We have all one common interest and one 
common wish — to be free from parliamentary jurisdic- 
tion and taxation." And as to the expense, "what 
signifies our being frightened at the expense ? If 
we succeed, we gain all ; but if we are conquered, 
we lose all." 

Fortunately, the year passed away without his 
fears being realized. The British did not know how 
weak Washington's army was at the end of Decem- 
ber, 1775, or, if they did, they took no advantage of 
it. The new army was enlisted for the year 1776, 
and took the place of the old ; and, so far as Greene 
was concerned, on January 4th he felt strong enough 
at Prospect Hill to defend himself "against all the 
force in Boston." Finally the siege came to an end 
in March. Washington collected eighty large boats, 
and stationed Sullivan and Greene with four thou- 
sand men on the shore near Cambridge, ready to cross 
the Back Bay and attack Beacon Hill if the British 
interfered with his movements. He then seized Dor- 
chester Heights, which commanded the bay as well as 
the British lines at Boston Neck. Howe had either 
to storm this position or leave. The memory of 
Bunker Hill was still fresh, and he sailed away for 
Halifax. Washington entered Boston, and assigned 
Greene to the command of the city. 

The most memorable feature of Greene's service 
at Boston was his correspondence with Governor 
Ward at Philadelphia, and especially two letters dated 
October 23, 1775, and January 4, 1776. In the first, 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. ^j 

he argued in favor of a declaration of independence, 
not only because there was no alternative except sub- 
jugation, but also because without it no help could 
be expected from France. He shrewdly and cor- 
rectly reasoned that " France, as a real enemy to 
Great Britain, acts upon a true plan of policy in re- 
fusing to intermeddle until she is satisfied that there 
is no hope of accommodation. Should France under- 
take to furnish us with powder and other articles, and 
the breach between Great Britain and the colonies 
be afterward made up, she would incur the hostility 
of her rival without reaping any solid advantage." 
In the second letter he argues still more forcibly for 
independence, and expresses his views about the mili- 
tary measures necessary to achieve it. He says — 
speaking of George Ill's speech on the opening of 
Parliament, news of which had just reached camp — 
" Heaven has decreed that tottering empire to irre- 
trievable ruin ; and, thanks to God, since Providence 
has so determined it, America must raise an empire 
of permanent duration, supported upon the grand pil- 
lars of truth, freedom, and religion, based upon jus- 
tice, and defended by her own patriotic sons. . . • 
Permit me, then, to recommend from the sincerity of 
my heart, ready at all times to bleed in my country's 
cause, a declaration of independence ; and call upon 
the world, and the great God who governs it, to wit- 
ness the necessity, propriety, and rectitude thereof. 
My worthy friend, the interests of mankind hang upon 
that truly worthy body of which you are a member. 
You stand the representative not of America only, 
but of the whole world, the friends of liberty, and 
the supporters of the rights of human nature. How 
will posterity, millions yet unborn, bless the memory 



32 



GENERAL GREENE. 



of those brave patriots who are now hastening the 
consummation of freedom, truth, and religion ! " In 
regard to military measures he says : " No doubt a 
large army must be raised in addition to the forces 
upon the present establishment. . . . How they must 
be divided, and where stationed, is a matter at pres- 
ent problematical. However, one thing is certain : 
the grand body must be superior in number to any 
force that the enemy can send. All the forces in 
America should be under one commander, raised and 
appointed by the same authority, subjected to the 
same regulations, and ready to be detached wherever 
occasion may require. . . . An army unequipped will 
ever feel the want of spirit and courage ; but properly 
furnished, fighting in the best of causes, will bid de- 
fiance to the united force of men and devils. When 
a finishing period will be put to the present dispute 
God only knows. We have just experienced the in- 
conveniences of disbanding an army within cannon 
shot of the enemy and forming a new one in its 
stead — an instance never before known. Had the 
enemy been fully acquainted with our situation, I 
can not pretend to say what might have been the 
consequence. A large body of troops will probably 
be wanted for a considerable time. It will be in- 
finitely safer, and not more expensive in the end, for 
the continent to give a large bounty to any number 
of troops, in addition to what may be ordered on the 
present establishment, that will engage during the 
war, than to enlist them from year to year without a 
bounty." 

These letters were written at a time when a large 
party in Congress was still trying to devise measures 
for a reconciliation; when Pennsylvania required the 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



33 



members of its Assembly to take the oath of alle- 
giance to King George, and instructed its delegates 
in Congress to reject any proposition looking toward 
independence ; when Washington was hampered in 
his command by the constant instructions of a com- 
mittee of Congress, and New England delegates were 
proclaiming that " enlistment for a long period is a 
state of slavery ; a rotation of service in arms is 
favorable to liberty." In the face of this confusion 
of ideas Greene saw clearly that the political object 
of the war was not a mere redress of grievances by 
parliament or king, but the independence of the 
united colonies ; and that the military means for 
accomplishing it were troops enlisted for the war, 
well armed and equipped, ready to serve wherever 
ordered, and all directed by the single mind of one 
commander-in-chief. The Declaration of Independ- 
ence came six months later — sooner than almost any 
one anticipated; annual enlistments continued for 
several years longer and were never fully aban- 
doned ; the course of events in another year gave 
Washington full military control as commander-in- 
chief; the measures for raising money to equip the 
army properly were never taken, no central govern- 
ment being formed with power to tax. But Greene 
at least had no illusions; he saw plainly what was 
before him, and pleaded for what ought to be done. 
No one will now dispute the soundness of his views. 
He could not secure their adoption in full, but he 
could at least devote his life to the cause; he had 
started to get his musket and join his company be- 
fore midnight on the date of the battle of Lexington, 
and he was still fighting after Yorktown had sur- 
rendered, nearly seven years later. 



34 



GENERAL GREENE. 



These letters afford the cl»w to his selection to 
command the Rhode Island troops. They were writ- 
ten less than a year after his appointment, and the 
man who could write them was easily among the fore- 
most men in his colony, and must haye so impressed 
his fellow-members in the Assembly, even though he 
was only a private in the Kentish Guards. 

Boston was evacuated on March 17th, and on the 
i8th Washington sent Heath, with his brigade of six 
regiments, a battalion of riflemen, and two companies 
of artillery, to New York via Norwich and the Sound. 
With the rest of the army he waited to make sure of 
Howe's departure. On the 27th the fleet sailed away 
— for New York, Washington naturally supposed, 
although in fact it was for Halifax. Leaving five 
regiments in Boston under Ward, the American army 
started for New York as rapidly as transportation 
could be collected. Washington himself left Boston 
April 4th, and arrived in New York on the 13th. His 
army was all there before the ist of May. 

Greene received his marching orders on March 
29th, and left Boston on Monday, April ist, at sunrise. 
His brigade consisted of two of his Rhode Island 
regiments and three from Massachusetts, with a de- 
tachment of Knox's artillery. Their route lay through 
Providence and past his old home to New London, 
where they took vessels for New York, arriving on 
April 17th. Just as they started, word was received 
from Governor Cooke that the English fleet had ap- 
peared at Newport, and Greene hurried on, expecting 
to fight in defense of his own colony. But it proved 
to be a false alarm. On arriving at New York two 
changes were made in succession in the organization 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



35 



of his brigade, but at the end of April, with five regi- 
ments containing seventeen hundred and sixty-one 
men, of whom thirteen hundred and seven were fit 
for duty, he was ordered to take post on Long Island. 
Other troops were ordered to the same position, and 
Greene, as senior brigadier, commanded them all. 
On August 9th he was promoted to the rank of major- 
general, and the troops on Long Island were formed 
into a division under his command. 

Washington had about twelve thousand men, sub- 
sequently increased by militia to twenty thousand, of 
whom not more than two-thirds were fit for duty. 
He rightly anticipated that Howe would soon appear 
at New York, and endeavor to secure control of the 
line of the Hudson and thus cut the colonies in two. 
He therefore set to work to dispose his little force to 
the best advantage in order to make as much re- 
sistance as possible. Fortifications were laid out 
and built on both shores of the lower end of Man- 
hattan Island, south of Canal Street, on Governor's 
Island, and on Long Island. To the latter Greene 
was assigned. Brooklyn was then a small village of 
less than one thousand inhabitants, situated in the 
vicinity of the present City Hall. Gowanus Bay on 
one side and Wallabout Bay on the other, with the 
creeks and marshes which drained into them, stretched 
up into the land behind it so as almost to create an 
island about three miles long and one to one and a 
half miles wide. Fortifications were laid out to de- 
fend this peninsula on both sides. On the water 
front a battery of seven guns was built on the com- 
manding position of Brooklyn Heights, which com- 
pletely dominated New York as well as the entrance 
to the East River ; this entrance was further protect- 



36 GENERAL GREENE. 

ed by a battery of five guns on Red Hook, just north 
of the present Erie Basin, which, in connection with 
a similar battery on Governor's Island, would pre- 
vent ships from passing through Buttermilk Channel. 
On the land side Greene traced and built his line of 
works substantially on the ground selected by Charles 
Lee when he was in New York three months before. 
It consisted of four small redoubts, mounting in all 
twenty guns, and a line of connecting intrenchments 
protected by abatis. The line was judiciously selected, 
and the works were well built; for, after his victory 
of August 27th Howe did not dare to assault them, 
but sat down to a regular siege, and thus gave 
Washington an opportunity to withdraw the remnants 
of the Long Island force to New York. 

While the works were in progress Greene kept con- 
stantly drilling his men, trying to bring his new regi- 
ments up to the standard of those he had commanded 
at Boston ; and he also reconnoitered the whole 
country from Hell Gate to Gravesend Bay, and out 
as far as Jamaica, making himself thoroughly familiar 
with every road and hill and piece of woods, so as 
to be prepared for the British attack which it was 
expected would be made from the south and east of 
Brooklyn ; for the British could not sail up the Hud- 
son River and leave this strong post on their flank 
and rear. He also accompanied Knox and other 
officers in reconnoissances over Manhattan Island, 
and he was frequently summoned to Washington's 
headquarters to attend a council of war or receive 
instructions. On one of these occasions he walked 
from the ferry up through what was then an open 
field used for parades and is now the City Hall Park. 
A company of artillery was being drilled, and Greene 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



37 



was attracted by the earnestness and vivacity of the 
young captain in command, as well as by the pro- 
ficiency of the company. He stopped for some time 
to watch them, and finally, at an interval in the drill, 
he sent one of his aids to compliment the captain on 
his excellent drill and to learn his name. It was 
Alexander Hamilton. Greene invited him to dinner, 
and at once formed a very high opinion of his abili- 
ties. At the earliest opportunity he introduced him 
to Washington, who soon after observed his fine con- 
duct at the battle of White Plains and in the Jerseys, 
and in the following spring invited him to a place on 
his staff. The intimacy between Greene and Hamil- 
ton dated from this parade-ground episode, and it 
was never broken. Hamilton was fifteen years 
younger than Greene, but his marvelously precocious 
mind took no account of difference in age. Through- 
out Greene's life, and after his death, Hamilton was 
at all times his stanch adherent and admirer. The 
warmth of his eulogies was possibly due in some 
measure to his gratitude to Greene, who was the first 
among military men to recognize his merit. 

While at Long Island, Greene also, as at Boston, 
found time to carry on a voluminous correspondence. 
His friend and mentor. Governor Ward, had died of 
the smallpox at Philadelphia just as Greene was leav- 
ing Boston. His loss was greatly mourned, but his 
place as correspondent was taken by John Adams, 
whose acquaintance Greene had probably formed or 
possibly revived at Cambridge. Adams was now 
chairman of the Board of War in the Continental 
Congress, and to him Greene wrote at length on the 
political and military situation. In three of these 
letters he used the expression " the desperate game 



38 GENERAL GREENE. 

which you are playing " ; and this led Mr. Ban- 
croft, in the earlier editions of his history, to 
speak of Greene at this time as " despondent," and 
to say that " Greene had once before warned John 
Adams of the hopelessness of the contest; and again 
on the 14th [July, 1776] he wrote: ' 1 still think you 
are playing a desperate game.' " In the last edition 
this is altered so as to read : " Greene, on the 14th, 
while facing the whole danger without dismay, wrote 
to John Adams : " I still think you are playing a 
desperate game." The latter comment is the exact 
opposite of the one first made, but it is the correct 
one. Greene was not hopeless or despondent, but 
he saw the danger of relying upon a militia, which 
came and went almost at pleasure, as the military 
means of securing independence ; and the desperate 
game he referred to was the attempt of Congress to 
carry on a revolution without an adequate military 
force. On this subject he had written to Governor 
Ward in January. He now wrote to John Adams ; and 
in the following autumn, when the approaching close 
of the year brought with it another dissolution of the 
annual army, he wrote to Governor Cooke in Rhode 
Island ; and always what he pleaded for with all 
his strength was an army enlisted for the war, a 
system of bounties to encourage enlistments, pensions 
to provide for the families of those who should fall, 
thorough discipline and equipment of the men, and 
sufficient pay for the officers to enable them to main- 
tain themselves with dignity. In his letter to Gov- 
ernor Cooke (October 11,1776) he states the philo- 
sophical basis on which discipline is justified, with 
uncommon force and clearness, as follows : " The 
Americans possess as much natural bravery as any 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



39 



people on earth, but habit must form the soldier. He 
who expects [that] men brought from the tender 
scenes of domestic life can meet danger and death 
with a becoming fortitude, is a stranger to the human 
heart. There is nothing that can get the better of 
that active principle of self-preservation, but a proper 
sentiment of pride, or being often accustomed to 
danger. As the principle of pride is not predominant 
in the minds of the common soldiery, the force of 
habit must be called in to its aid to get the better 
of our natural fears, ever alarmed at the approach 
of danger." 

In ail this Greene was simply in advance of his 
time. Washington advocated the same views in favor 
of a permanent army with even more force; but it 
does not appear that the other officers of the army 
laid stress upon them, and in Congress they fell upon 
deaf ears. Nor is this to be wondered at. The mi- 
litia was one of the colonial institutions — as much a 
part of the machinery of government as the gov- 
ernor, assembly, or courts of justice. It had been 
instituted in the earliest days of each colony, and 
been used with success in the Indian and French 
wars, which were the only contests which the colo- 
nies had had to sustain. Its essential principle was 
that every able-bodied man should bear arms, should 
have his musket always ready, and when danger ap- 
peared should promptly rally to suppress it — and then 
as promptly return home. 

It was not to be expected that these habits and 
traditions of five generations would be laid aside in 
a moment. On the other hand, there was an almost 
rabid prejudice against standing armies, which were 
regarded as the instruments of autocratic power, and 



40 



GENERAL GREENE. 



their name as synonymous with tyranny and oppres- 
sion. Not a few members of Congress thought that 
a standing army was a greater evil than any which 
had been inflicted by Parliament, and if independ- 
ence could not be secured without a standing army 
it were better not to attempt it. Finally, there was 
not only a contem.pt for the pomp and pride of war, 
but a jealousy of the honors which war would con- 
fer on the successful military leaders. This is well 
illustrated by John Adams, who, after seeing Wash- 
ington escorted out of Philadelphia, after his elec- 
tion as commander in chief, with bands of music and 
companies of militia, went to his lodgings and wrote 
to his wife: " I, poor creature, worn out with scrib- 
bling for my bread and my liberty, low in spirits and 
weak in health, must leave others to wear the laurels 
which I have sown, others to eat the bread which I 
have earned." 

In view of the feelings which all the public men 
of the day had imbibed from their childhood con- 
cerning the dangers of a standing army and military 
heroes, and the advantages of a militia in a free state, 
it is not surprising that Washington and Greene never 
succeeded in persuading Congress fully to adopt their 
views in regard to the proper organization of a mili- 
tary force. It is none the less to Greene's credit that 
he, although brought up in the same atmosphere and 
surroundings, saw so clearly the inherent defects of 
the militia, and advocated so earnestly the correct 
military policy. 

While Greene was completing his fortifications, 
drilling his men, and writing to John Adams, Howe's 
army arrived at New York and landed on Staten 
Island. Greene writes, on July 14th : " I wrote you 



BOSTON AND LONG ISLAND. 



41 



some time past I thought you were playing a desper- 
ate game. I still think so. Here is Howe's army ar- 
rived, and the re-enforcements hourly expected. The 
whole force we have to oppose them don't amount to 
much above nine thousand, if any. I could wish the 
troops had been drawn together a little earlier, that 
we might have had some opportunity of disciplining 
them. However, what falls to my lot I shall endeavor 
to execute to the best of my ability." Two weeks 
later, Clinton and Cornwallis arrived from the South, 
and on the 12th of August came twenty-five hundred 
fresh troops from England and eighty-six hundred 
Hessians. With the keenest interest Greene had 
watched them all sail into the bay and land on Staten 
Island, and he made his preparations to receive them 
as warmly as possible in case their attack should 
be against the Long Island fortifications, as seemed 
probable. But just at this time he was taken ill 
with a raging fever contracted in the swamps of 
Gowanus Bay. He was for several days at death's 
door, and was then removed to the Sailors' Snug 
Harbor, at what is now Broadway and Ninth Street. 
It was a cruel misfortune. He had been for fifteen 
months in the army, and had as yet seen no actual 
fighting except a few slight skirmishes around Bos- 
ton. The first large battle of the war was now to be 
fought — against his own men and on his own ground 
• — and he lying in bed with his mind wandering in a 
fever. " Gracious God ! to be confined at such a 
time ! " he writes to his brother as soon as he re- 
covers. But there was no help for it. The battle 
was fought without him, and was a crushing defeat. 
To what extent he could have prevented this defeat 
had he remained in command is mere matter of con- 
4 



42 



GENERAL GREENE. 



jecture, but all historians concur in attributing the 
disaster largely to his sickness and absence. Ban- 
croft speaks of this as " an irreparable loss." While 
success with nine thousand militia against twenty- 
four thousand of the best troops of Europe would 
seem to have been impossible, yet, when we see what 
Greene accomplished in the South four years later, 
in the face of odds almost equally great, there is 
room to believe that he would at least have retarded 
the British advance with small loss, and brought his 
men within their lines in good condition. At all 
events, with Putnam and Sullivan in command, a ter- 
rible defeat was suffered, and but for Washington's 
extraordinary skill and quickness of action the whole 
army would have been captured. After the battle of 
the 27th of August, Howe pressed up to Fort Greene, 
but the abatis and fallen timber were thick, the lines 
looked strong, and Bunker Hill was still not forgot- 
ten. He decided to besiege, and not to try an assault. 
In forty-eight hours, from under his very eyes, Wash- 
ington had taken the army over to New York. It is 
doubtful if a more brilliant military operation of this 
kind was ever performed. The whole army rang with 
Washington's praises, and Greene among the first. He 
tells his brother that, " considering the difficulties, the 
retreat from Long Island was the best effected re- 
treat I ever read or heard of." 



CHAPTER IV. 

FORT WASHINGTON. 

After the retreat from Long Island Washington 
reorganized his army into three divisions. The first, 
consisting of five brigades under Putnam, was sta- 
tioned in the city at the lower end of the island ; the 
second, consisting of seven brigades under Spencer 
(to whom Greene's brigades were temporarily as- 
signed), was ordered to march to Harlem to prevent 
a landing in that vicinity ; the third, of two brigades, 
was posted at Kingsbridge. The paper strength of 
these twelve brigades was about twenty thousand 
men, but one third of them were sick, and the 
militia were deserting in swarms — going off, in Wash- 
ington's words, " in some instances almost by whole 
regiments, in many by half ones and by companies 
at a time." His effective force probably did not 
much exceed ten thousand men. 

Howe, having seen with chagrin AVashington es- 
cape from him on Long Island, gradually extended 
his right flank along the shore of the East River as 
far as Flushing, and leisurely prepared to land on 
the upper part of Manhattan Island, hoping by the 
aid of his fleet in the North River to coop up Wash- 
ington's entire force and capture it. Washington, 
on the other hand, " never sparing the spade and 
pickaxe," put every man at work throwing up forti- 



44 



GENERAL GREENE. 



fications along the East River, at Kingsbridge, and 
across the narrow neck from ForT^VVashington to the 
Harlem River. 

On September 5th, after being three weeks in 
bed, Greene had so far recovered as to be able to 
write, and on that day he wrote a long letter to 
Washington advising " a general and speedy retreat " 
from Manhattan Island, and the posting of the army 
at Kingsbridge and along the Westchester shore. 
He further advised the burning of the city, reason- 
ing that if once lost it could not be recovered for 
lack of a naval force, and that the enemy should not 
be allowed to use it. In this view he was supported 
by John Jay and others. But Congress, on Septem- 
ber 3d, had passed a resolution instructing Washing- 
ton, " in case he should find it necessary to quit New 
York, that no damage be done to the said city by 
his troops on their leaving it, the Congress having 
no doubt of being able to recover the same, though 
the enemy should for a time have possession of it." 
Whether the burning of New York would have been 
justifiable is a matter of doubt, but as to regaining 
it Congress was wrong and Greene was right ; the 
British held it without interruption until after the 
close of the war. 

On receipt of Greene's letter Washington called 
a council of war for September 7th. An exact 
record of its proceedings was not kept, but on the 
following day Washington reported to Congress the 
substance of its deliberations. " There were some 
general officers, in whose judgment and opinion 
much confidence is to be reposed, that were for a 
total and immediate removal from the city, . . . but 
they were overruled by a majority, who thought for 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



45 



the present a part of our force might be kept here and 
attempt to maintain the city a while longer." It was 
therefore concluded to post five thousand men in the 
city, nine thousand at Kingsbridge, and the balance 
at intermediate points. In this report Washington 
stated, " Nor were some a little influenced in. their 
opinion, to whom the determination of Congress was 
known, against an evacuation totally, as they were 
led to suspect that Congress wished it to be retained 
at all hazards." Congress did not relish this remark, 
and tartly informed him, by resolution of the loth, 
that they did not mean that the army should remain 
in New York " a moment longer " than he thought 
proper. Just as Washington received this resolution 
he also received a petition signed by Greene and six 
brigadiers asking for a second council. Washington 
promptly called one for September 12th, and at this 
council the previous vote was reconsidered, Heath, 
Spencer, and Clinton alone voting against it. It was 
decided to evacuate the city and all of the island ex- 
cept Fort Washington and its vicinity, for the de- 
fense of which eight thousand men were to be left. 
Washington immediately began the removal of stores 
and prepared for a retreat, which was somewhat 
hastened by Howe's movements. On Sunday, Septem- 
ber 15th, Howe sent five frigates, mounting between 
seventy and eighty guns, up the East River, and, 
under cover of their fire, he transported a part of his 
force across the East River from Newtown Creek to 
a point (foot of Thirty-fourth Street) between Turtle 
and Kip's Bays. Washington hurried down from his 
headquarters near Harlem, and with two brigades 
endeavored to oppose Howe's landing. But the 
troops, although some of them had been engaged be- 



^6 GENERAL GREENE. 

fore, ran at the first fire, leaving Washington but a 
short distance from the enemy, by whom he narrowly 
escaped capture. A hasty retreat was made to Bloom- 
ingdale, and Washington sent word to Putnam to 
evacuate the city immediately. Had-Howe marched 
over to the North River he would have completely 
cut off Putnam and captured his force of five thou- 
sand men ; but instead of doing so, he stopped to 
lunch at Mr. Murray's house (Park Avenue and 
Thirty-sixth Street), and Putnam, by following the 
roads along the North River shore, was enabled to 
escape with the loss of fifteen men wounded, about 
one hundred stragglers missing, and his cannon and 
stores. At night the troops were hurriedly assembled 
and posted along the heights on the north of Man- 
hattanville. The men slept without tents, were wet 
through by a heavy rain, and were greatly dispirited. 
Howe had completed his landing during the after- 
noon and advanced his troops to a line extending 
from Bloomingdale, through the heights in what is 
now the northern part of Central Park, to Hell Gate at 
Eighty-ninth Street. The armies were about two and 
a half miles apart, separated by the flat Harlem plains. 
Before daylight on the following morning (Sep- 
tember i6th) detachments of both armies were in 
motion. General Leslie left the British lines and 
moved along the high broken ground west of what 
is now Morningside Park ; Colonel Knowlton, with 
his battalion of " rangers " or scouts, was sent for- 
ward over this same ground to ascertain the posi- 
tion of the British. The two detachments came to- 
gether, apparently, in the vicinity of iioth Street, 
and a skirmish ensued, Knowlton gradually retreat- 
ing toward Manhattanville. Washmgton was at his 



FORT WASHINGTON, 



47 



headquarters at the Morris House (i6ist Street) en- 
gaged in writing to Congress a report of the pre- 
ceding day's retreat. Word was brought to him that 
the enemy had appeared in force on the Harlem 
plains, and, leaving his dispatch to be finished and 
forwarded by his secretary, he rode rapidly to the 
hill where the Convent of the Sacred Heart now 
stands (133d Street), and where Greene was posted 
with his division, of which he seems to have then just 
resumed the command. On arriving there he heard 
the firing and saw the skirmish in progress on the 
hills across the Manhattanville valley. He then went 
forward to the advanced pickets on the " Point of 
Rocks" (Ninth Avenue and 126th Street), where 
Knowlton met him and reported that the force op- 
posed to him did not exceed three hundred men. 
Washington at once planned to effect their capture 
by making a demonstration against their front with a 
detachment of volunteers from Greene's division, 
while Knowlton with his rangers, re-enforced by a 
part of a Virginia regiment under Major Leitch, was 
to steal around their right flank and gain their rear. 
The plan partially succeeded, the British rushing 
down into the Manhattanville valley to attack the 
small force which was making a feint against their 
front. But Knowlton, instead of gaining their rear, 
attacked on their flank, and a sharp engagement 
took place, in which Knowlton was killed and 
Leitch was wounded. In spite of this loss, the men 
stood their ground, although it was evident that the 
British force was larger than anticipated. Wash- 
ington therefore sent two Maryland regiments to 
their aid. The British, after a vigorous defense, 
were forced back about half a mile, when the Forty- 



48 GENERAL GREENE, 

second Highlanders came up as re-enforcements and 
they made a stand about noon. Howe now or- 
dered additional re-enforcements, and two regiments 
of Hessians arrived, but they were unable to hold 
their ground and were finally driven back in con- 
siderable confusion nearly to iioth Street. Wash- 
ington, not deeming it prudent to hazard his advan- 
tage any further, then stopped the pursuit and re- 
called his troops to their positions between the Point 
of Rocks and the Morris House. A large body of 
British re-enforcements arrived just after the Ameri- 
cans withdrew, but they made no effort at pursuit. In 
the evening, however, their pickets advanced to the 
heights just south of Manhattanville valley, only a 
short distance from those of the Americans at the 
Point of Rocks on the north of it. 

The losses in this engagement were not very heavy, 
being about eighteen killed and ninety wounded on 
the British side, and considerably less on the Ameri- 
can, but it was an engagement of great importance, 
because it showed that, in spite of their disgraceful 
conduct of the previous day, the men could be relied 
upon to fight. It had a wonderful effect in reani- 
mating the spirits of the army. It brought Howe to 
a standstill for four weeks, and caused him to write 
home to the ministry that " the enemy is too strongly 
posted to be attacked in front, and innumerable dif- 
ficulties are in the way of our turning him on either 
side." He plainly said that the war was not to be 
finished in one campaign, and asked that large re- 
enforcements be sent in the spring. 

In this action Greene first came under fire. His 
troops were not engaged (except a small party of 
volunteers), but he, as well as Putnam, and Tilghman 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



49 



of Washington's staff, volunteered to take part in 
order to encourage the men, and they were in the 
thickest of the fight. Reed, the adjutant-general, 
also performed similar service, and, on account of his 
knowledge of the ground, acted as guide to Knowl- 
ton's turning column. As Reed wrote to his wife, it 
was rash for ofiicers of their rank to expose them- 
selves in this way, but they felt it was necessary to 
do so in order to encourage the men. They evidently 
wished, at any cost, to prevent a repetition of the 
shameful business at Kip's Bay. 

Greene had now regained his health, and, as at 
Long Island, Washington gave him a semi-independ- 
ent command, while retaining the bulk of the army 
under his own eye. It was all-important to preserve 
control of the line of the Hudson River, and, if pos- 
sible, prevent the British ships from ascending it ; at 
the same time holding possession of both banks, so 
that the army could move in either direction as the 
course of events might require. With this view the 
high ground at Mount Washington, about iSoth 
Street, had been selected as the site of a fort even 
before the battle of Long Island; and when it was 
determined at the council of war, on September 12th, 
to evacuate New York, it was unanimously decided 
to hold Fort Washington. After the battle of Harlem 
Heights, Putnam's division was stationed in the 
vicinity, and the fort was under Putnam's command. 
Greene, on the other hand, was detached with his 
division, numbering fifty-seven hundred and seven 
on paper, and thirty-five hundred and twenty-one fit 
for duty, and sent over into New Jersey, with head- 
quarters at Fort Lee, at the southern end of the Pali- 
sades and immediately opposite Fort Washington. 



50 GENERAL GREENE. 

Greene remained in this position for the next two 
months. In the middle of October Howe began his 
turning movement, intending to get in rear of Wash- 
ington by way of Throgg's Neck and New Rochelle, 
and then march across to the Hudson. With Lord 
Percy's detachment at Bloomingdale Heights on the 
south, his main army on the north, and his ships on 
both rivers, Howe hoped to surround and capture 
the whole American force. But as Howe extended 
his right by way of Long Island Sound, Washington 
as steadily extended his left along the line of the 
Bronx. Finally Washington reached White Plains, 
and there assembled his entire force, except what 
was left at Forts Washington and Lee, twenty miles 
distant, from which his communication was entirely 
severed. An indecisive engagement was fought at 
White Plains on October 29th, and then Washington 
retreated northward a few miles and took up a strong 
position at North Castle. Howe had been com- 
pletely baffled in his efforts to turn Washington's left 
flank, and he thought it unwise to risk an assault at 
North Castle ; he therefore marched across to the 
Hudson River at Dobb's Ferry and down to Kings- 
bridge. Washington saw that this meant an attack 
on Fort Washington. He therefore left Lee with 
seven thousand men at North Castle in case Howe 
should return to that point, posted Heath with three 
thousand in the Highlands near West Point, and sent 
the rest of his little force — about four thousand men — 
across the Hudson and down behind the Palisades to 
Hackensack, about nine miles in rear of Fort Lee. 
He himself arrived at the latter point on the after- 
noon of the 13th. 

In the meantime Greene had made a small raid 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



51 



into Staten Island and captured a few prisoners, had 
begun the formation of depots at convenient points on 
the road to Philadelphia, to be provided with stores 
for twenty thousand men for three months, and had 
done everything possible to strengthen the defenses 
of Fort Lee. Putnam commanded Fort Washington 
until about October 25th, when he was summoned 
to White Plains, and Greene, whose command had 
originally been limited to the toops on the Jersey 
shore, took charge of Fort Washington. Before 
Washington started for White Plains he had given 
orders that Fort Washington should be defended to 
the last extremity. 

Putnam had placed some obstructions in the river, 
but they were not effectual in barring the navigation, 
although they rendered it more difficult. Early in 
October three frigates sailed up the river in spite of 
the obstructions and the fire of the forts, whereupon 
Congress passed a resolution (October nth) direct- 
ing Washington, " by every art and at whatever ex- 
pense, to obstruct effectually the navigation of the 
North River between Fort Washington and Mount 
Constitution" [Fort Lee]. Putnam then added to 
the obstructions in the river and hastened the work 
on his batteries, and Greene continued to do the 
same after Putnam was called away to White Plains. 
On the 27th another ship tried to pass up the Hud- 
son, but it was so badly damaged by the forts that it 
had to retire. At the same time a demonstration 
was made on the land side by the troops which had 
been left at Harlem under Lord Percy, but it was 
not seriously pressed and was easily repelled. This 
encouraged Greene to hope that a successful defense 
could be made at Fort Washington, and as Washing- 



52 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ton was some distance away, he sent a report of the 
affair direct to Congress. On the 28th, Fort Inde- 
pendence, which was on the heights just north of 
Kingsbridge, was evacuated under orders received 
direct from Washington ; and on the 29th the Hes- 
sians under Knyphausen appeared on the plain just 
south of Kingsbridge. On the 31st, Greene, who 
only a week before had become responsible for Fort 
Washington, wrote to Washington for instructions : 
"I should be glad to know your Excellency's mind 
about holding all the ground from Kingsbridge to 
the lower lines. If we attempt to hold the ground, 
the garrison must still be re-enforced; but if the 
garrison is only to draw into Mount Washington, and 
keep that, the number of troops is too large. ... I 
shall re-enforce Colonel Magaw (at Fort Washing- 
ton) with Colonel Railing's regiments until I hear 
from your Excellency respecting the matter." It 
took several days for this letter to reach Washington, 
so that he did not reply till November 5th, and then 
he gave no positive instructions. His secretary 
wrote : " It depends upon so many circumstances 
that it is impossible for him to determine the point. 
He submits entirely to your discretion, and such 
judgment as you will be able to form from the 
enemy's movements and the whole complexion of 
things." On the 6th a frigate and two transports 
passed up the river. Greene promptly notified Wash- 
ington of it on the following day, and his secretary 
wrote to Greene to watch the shores carefully and 
give the earliest information of any movement of 
the British to cross the river. On the following day, 
having fully considered the matter and being con- 
vinced that an attack on Fort Washington would be 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



53 



the next move on Howe's part, Washington wrote to 
Greene in these words. It is this letter which leads 
Bancroft to accuse Gre6ne of disobedience of orders, 
and hence its language should be carefully noted, for 
the accusation is devoid of any foundation in fact : 

** The late passage of three vessels up the North 
River, of which we have just received advice, is so 
plain a proof of the inefificacy of all the obstructions 
we have thrown into it that I can not but think it 
will fully justify a change in the disposition which 
has been made. If we can not prevent vessels from 
passing up, and the enemy are possessed of the sur- 
rounding country, what valuable purpose can it an- 
swer to attempt to hold a post from which the ex- 
pected benefit can not be had ? I am therefore 
inclined to think that it will not be prudent to hazard 
the men and stores at Mount Washington ; but, as you 
are on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders 
as to evacuating Mount Washington as you may 
judge best, and so far revoking the order given to 
Colonel Magaw to defend it to the last. 

" The best accounts obtained from the enemy as- 
sure us of a considerable movement among their 
boats last evening, and, so far as can be collected 
from the various sources of intelligence, they must 
design a penetration into Jersey, and to fall down 
upon your post. You will therefore immediately 
have all the stores removed which you do not deem 
necessary for your defense." 

This letter contains four things : First, a positive 
order to remove the stores from Fort Lee. Second, 
a revocation of the former order to defend Fort 
Washington to the last. Third, authority to General 
Greene to evacuate Fort Washington whenever he 



54 



GENERAL GREENE. 



thinks best. Fourth, Washington's opinion that prob- 
ably it would be best to evacuate it. It contains no 
order to evacuate Fort Washington. When Wash- 
ington wished to give an order he did so in very 
plain language, but in this case he merely threw out 
a suggestion (" I am inclined to think that it would 
not be prudent to hazard ") which evidently implied 
a desire for the expression of Greene's views. 

Greene promptly replied on November 9th, say- 
ing that he had already given orders for the removal 
of the stores at Dobb's Ferry, and stating fully his 
opinion in regard to Fort Washington. 

" The passing of the ships up the river is, to be 
sure, a full proof of the insufficiency of the obstruc- 
tions in the river to stop the ships from going up; 
but that garrison employs double the number of men 
to invest it that we have to occupy it. They must 
keep troops at Kingsbridge to prevent a communi- 
cation with the country, and they dare not leave a 
very small number for fear our people should attack 
them. Upon the whole, I can not help thinking the 
garrison is of advantage, and I can not conceive 
the garrison to be in any great danger ; the men can 
be brought off at any time, but the stores may not 
be so easily removed, yet I think they can be got off 
in spite of them if matters grow desperate. 

" This post is of no importance only in conjunction 
with Mount Washington. I was over there last 
evening. The enemy seems to be disposing matters 
to besiege the place, but Colonel Magaw thinks it 
will take them till December expires before they can 
carry it. If the enemy don't find it an object of im- 
portance they won't trouble themselves about it. If 
they do, it is a full proof they feel an injury from 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



55 



our possessing it. Our giving it up will open a free 
communication with the country by the way of Kings- 
bridge that must be a great advantage to them and 
injury to us." 

On the loth Greene wrote again to Washington 
stating what dispositions he had made for the re- 
moval of the stores on the west bank of the Hudson, 
but saying nothing further about Fort Washington. 
Washington had given him discretion to evacuate 
Fort Washington if he thought best ; Greene had re- 
plied, stating at length why he thought the evacua- 
tion unnecessary and unadvisable. He then waited 
for further instructions. 

Washington left White Plains on the loth, was at 
Peekskill on the nth, crossed the river at King's 
Ferry (Verplanck's Point) on the 12th, and arrived 
at Fort Lee on the afternoon of the 13th. At what 
point he received Greene's letters of the 9th and loth 
is not known. Washington made no reply to them, 
as was evidently unnecessary, in view of his intention 
to see Greene in a few days, unless he wished to give 
a positive order to evacuate the Fort, and this he 
was not prepared to do, for his own mind was not 
fully made up. After Washington's arrival, of course, 
all responsibility on Greene's part ended. The com- 
mander in chief was on the spot, and it was for him 
to give orders. Washington's report to Congress of 
the i6th, his letter to his brother of the 19th, his 
letter to Reed, August 22, 1779, and his letter to 
Gordon, March 8, 1785 — all tell the same story. He 
arrived at Fort Lee and found the fort had not been 
evacuated or the stores removed. His own opinion 
was that it should be abandoned, yet he recognized 
its importance, and if it could be held, undoubtedly 



56 GENERAL GREENE. 

it would be of the greatest advantage. On this 
point his mind was not clear ; personally he thought 
it could not be defended with success; but Magaw, 
who was in command of the post, and Greene, in 
whose judgment he had great confidence, thought that 
it could. He therefore came to no decision ; the op- 
posing opinions caused, m his own words, " that 
warfare in my mind, and hesitation, which ended in 
the loss of the garrison." 

Washington did not visit Fort Washington on the 
14th, but went back to the Hackensack to examine the 
ground over which he felt sure he would soon have 
to retreat. Here, on the afternoon of the 15th, he 
received a brief note from Greene, inclosing one 
from Magaw, saying that Howe had demanded the 
surrender of the garrison. Washington returned at 
once to Fort Lee, reaching the river bank at dusk. 

In the meantime Howe had closed in on Fort 
Washington from all sides; from Kingsbridge on 
the north, with Knyphausen's division of Hessians ; 
from Harlem on the south, with Earl Percy's de- 
tachment ; and on the east bank of the Harlem, with 
detachments from his main force at Yonkers under 
Cornwallis and Matthews. In all, the assailants 
numbered about nine thousand men. The garrison, 
including the re-enforcements sent over by Greene, 
numbered about twenty-eight hundred. It was not 
stationed in the fort proper, but in the outlying 
works, at the point of the hills near 195th Street on 
the north and the old lines at Morris House and 
beyond it as far as 147th Street on the south, the 
distance between the two extreme points being over 
two miles. Rawlings commanded at the point of the 
hill north of Fort Washington, Baxter at the hill just 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



57 



east of him, overlooking the Harlem River, and Cad- 
walader at the lower lines facing Manhattanville. 
Magaw commanded the whole force, with his head- 
quarters at Fort Washington. 

On the 15th Howe sent his adjutant-general under 
flag of truce from Kingsbridge to Magaw's head- 
quarters, demanding a surrender. Magaw replied 
that he would defend his post to the last. He im- 
mediately sent a copy of his reply across the river to 
Greene, who told Magaw to defend his post until he 
received other orders, and sent the letter on to Wash- 
ington, as already stated. Greene then went across 
to see Magaw, accompanied by Putnam, who had 
crossed the river at King's Ferry a few days before, 
marched down behind the Palisades, and taken post 
at Hackensack. They spent an hour or more with 
Magaw, who assured them of his ability to defend 
his post, and they were just returning to Fort Lee 
when Washington met them at the shore with the in- 
tention of crossing. He was so assured by their re- 
port that he decided not to cross, and all three re- 
turned to Greene's headquarters on top of the 
Palisades for the night. 

On the morning of the i6th Howe's columns 
converged on the fort from the north, south, and 
east. The resistance was at first quite spirited, but, 
being overpowered in numbers and being taken in 
flank and rear by the column under Cornwallis from 
the east, they yielded and retreated to the fort in 
considerable confusion. Had a defense like that at 
Bunker Hill been made at the fort, the British would 
have been held at bay, and the garrison could prob- 
ably have been brought off in safety. Washington, 
who was watching the affair from the heights of 
5 



58 GENERAL GREENE. 

Fort Lee, saw this, and sent word to this effect by a 
gallant officer who made his way to the fort, but just 
before he arrived Magaw had surrendered his entire 
command. The British loss was about four hundred 
and fifty in killed and wounded; the Americans had 
lost fifty-four killed and less than one hundred 
wounded; they surrendered two hundred and twenty- 
one officers and twenty-six hundred and thirty-seven 
men. All the cannon and a considerable amount of 
stores which were in the fort fell into the hands of 
the British. 

It was a terrible disaster. Charles Lee, jealous 
of the growing reputation of Greene, who was already 
talked of as the probable successor of Washington 
in case accident should befall him, did his utmost to 
cast discredit on Greene ; but Washington assumed 
the full responsibility, and neither then nor after- 
ward censured Greene in any manner for his action. 
Had such a defense been made as was made at 
Bunker Hill, or had the Americans fought as they 
fought at Harlem Heights two months before, Howe 
would have suffered such losses as would again have 
brought his campaign to a standstill, and Greene's 
opinion would have been vindicated and Washing- 
ton's hesitation justified. But no such defense was 
made, an almost irreparable loss was sustained, and 
such blame as, judging after the event, attaches to 
it, must be shared equally by Washington and Greene. 
Since the place was lost, Greene's advice in favor of 
trying to hold it was perhaps an error of judgment; 
had his opinion been the other way, he would have 
withdrawn the garrison under his discretionary or- 
ders, and it would have been saved. But no one 
can divide the responsibility of the commander in 



FORT WASHINGTON. 



59 



chief. Washington was on the ground for nearly 
three days before the assault was made. The skill 
which withdrew a much larger force from Long 
Island in actual contact with the enemy, was quite 
equal to withdrawing this garrison had its possessor 
so decided. But he made no such decision, not be- 
ing sufficiently sure of his own opinion to overrule 
the strong opposite opinion of Greene, supported by 
that of all the officers of the garrison. 

Washington fully realized his error and was deeply 
mortified. He saw that he should have supported 
his own judgment with a positive order, and he sub- 
stantially says so in his letter to Reed three years 
later. Had he done so, none would have rendered 
more prompt and cheerful obedience than Greene. 
On the other hand, Greene felt at once that he would 
be blamed for the loss, and on the following day he 
wrote to Knox : " I feel mad, vexed, sick, and 
sorry. . . . This is a most terrible event; its con- 
sequences are justly to be dreaded. Pray, what is 
said on the occasion ? " 

This misfortune was the basis on which Lee and 
Gates founded their opposition to Washington ; but 
as between Washington and Greene it only cemented 
their confidence in each other. Washington never 
attempted to shirk his own responsibility by pleading 
the advice of his subordinate ; and Greene never an- 
swered the criticisms on his advice by calling atten- 
tion to the indecision of his chief. He sought ever 
more and more to merit Washington's confidence by 
unflagging devotion to duty ; and he pondered much 
on the mistake he had made, so as to avoid a similar 
one in the future. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE JERSEYS. 

Having gained possession of Fort Washington, 
the British promptly turned their attention to the cor- 
responding fort on the west bank of the river, Fort 
Lee. Washington anticipated this, and under his di- 
rection Greene began at once to remove the stores. 
But before this could be accomplished Cornwallis 
caused boats to be transported through Harlem River 
into the Hudson and up to Yonkers. On the night of 
November 19th, which was dark and rainy, he crossed 
at this point with a force of fourteen battalions, num- 
bering about six thousand men, and marched toward 
the rear of Fort Lee. Greene heard of this on the 
morning of the 20th, and immediately marched out 
of Fort Lee with its garrison of about two thousand 
men, to join Washington at the Hackensack bridge, 
five miles in rear of the fort. Greene had the long- 
est distance to march, but he reached the bridge in 
advance of Cornwallis, and held it. Cornwallis then 
moved over and took possession of the fort, where 
large quantities of stores had necessarily been aban- 
doned. His force greatly outnumbered Washington's, 
and had he made a vigorous attack at once he might 
possibly have routed and dispersed Washington's 
army. But he did not make the attempt. 

Washington withdrew behind the Passaic and re- 



THE JERSEYS. 6l 

mained in the vicinity of Newark for a week, then 
retreated by successive stages to New Brunswick, 
Princeton, and Trenton, where he arrived on De- 
cember 7th, Cornwallis following him very closely 
during the latter part of the retreat. It was impos- 
sible for him to give battle, as his little force was 
wasting away by expiration of the year's enlistment 
and by desertion, so that he had not more than three 
thousand men in hand; and all efforts to bring out 
the Jersey militia were fruitless. On reaching the 
Delaware he collected all the boats within a distance 
of seventy miles, and, as Cornwallis was close behind 
him, he crossed the river on the 8th, after breaking 
the bridges, and stationed his force along the bank 
opposite Trenton. Cornwallis made no effort to 
cross, but disposed his force in winter quarters, 
partly along the opposite bank of the Delaware and 
partly in detachments as far back as Amboy. He 
himself returned to New York and prepared to sail 
for England on leave of absence, confident that no 
military operations would take place before spring. 

Washington, however, had no such intentions. 
The American cause was at its lowest ebb, and he 
wrote to his brother : " If every nerve is not strained 
to recruit the new army with all possible expedition, 
I think the game is pretty nearly up." Everything 
depended upon the handful of men along the Dela- 
ware, and still more on Washington's iron nerve. In 
this desperate strait he resolved on striking a blow, 
which captured a force one third as large as his own 
and drove the British back to New York ! We hear 
so much of Washington as the modern Fabius, that 
we are apt to forget that no general ever lived who 
was quicker to seize a favorable opportunity, and by 



62 GENERAL GREENE. 

prompt and vigorous action turn it to advantage. 
He had shown this the preceding summer in the re- 
treat from Long Island, and was to show it again in 
his march to Virginia in 1781. But never did he show 
it so clearly as in this midwinter stroke at Trenton, 
which brought the sunshine of victory out of the 
gloom and darkness of a long series of disasters. 

During the two weeks following his arrival on the 
Delaware he had managed to augment his little force. 
A part of Lee's army had at last reached him under 
Sullivan's command after Lee had been captured; 
Schuyler had sent a detachment from the Northern 
Department, and some militia had been raised in 
Philadelphia. These, with what remained of the 
force he had brought from Fort Lee, carried his 
strength up to about seven thousand men. He de- 
termined to cross the river at three points, attack 
the British and Hessian posts, and, if successful, push 
on to New Brunswick and capture the large depot of 
British stores. A part of the militia was to cross 
near Burlington and strike the British left; another 
part was to cross at Trenton and hold the roads at that 
point ; while the Continental troops, about twenty- 
four hundred strong, in two divisions, under Sullivan 
and Greene, were to cross nine miles above Trenton 
and take it in flank. The time chosen was the night 
after Christmas, when the Hessians would be heavy 
with carousing and their guards slack. The night 
was intensely cold and stormy, with alternations of 
snow and hail, and the river was filled with floating 
ice. Both detachments of militia failed to get across, 
and accomplished nothing ; but the Continentals were 
all across by about four o'clock in the morning and 
marching toward Trenton, Sullivan on the right along 



THE JERSEYS. 63 

the river road, and Greene on a road a few miles to 
his left. Washington in person accompanied Greene's 
column. At daylight they reached the town, enter- 
ing by converging streets. Greene's division entered 
first, seized their artillery, and cut off the retreat to 
Princeton ; Sullivan arrived a few minutes later. The 
Hessians were surprised, but turned out briskly ; there 
was a short, sharp fight in the streets, in which their 
commander, Colonel Rail, and thirty others were 
killed and wounded ; then about five hundred es- 
caped by the road which the militia detachment was 
to have held if it had crossed at Trenton, and the 
rest, to the number of about one thousand, surren- 
dered. The American loss had been two privates 
killed, two frozen to death, and three wounded. 

It was a success almost equally startling to friend 
and foe. Gordon states that a council of war was 
immediately held, and that Greene and Knox were 
in favor of pushing on at once toward Princeton, but 
the other officers — Sullivan, Stirling, Mercer, St. Clair, 
and Stephen — opposed it, and Washington did not 
feel justified in acting against the opinions of the 
majority. He therefore retired during the afternoon 
to his old positions on the south bank of the river. 

On hearing the news of this affair, Cornwallis 
abandoned the idea of going on leave, and started 
at once for Trenton, picking up the detachments at 
Elizabeth and New Brunswick as he came. At the 
same time the British and Hessian detachments on 
their left flank near Burlington and Mount Holly re- 
treated hastily toward Princeton. On the 28th, Wash- 
ington sent Greene across the river again into Jersey 
with a force of about three hundred men, and on the 
next day he followed in person with the Continen- 



64 GENERAL GREENE. 

tals, numbering about eighteen hundred. He was 
then joined by the Pennsylvania militia, which had 
succeeded in crossing at Burlington and had been 
increased by fresh arrivals from Philadelphia. His 
force varied from day to day, according to the acces- 
sions of militia on one hand and the desertions and 
expiration of service on the other. On January ist 
it was about five thousand men in all. On the morn- 
ing of January 2d Cornwallis moved out from Prince- 
ton with his army of about eight thousand men. It 
was only ten miles to Trenton, and midway of the 
distance he met Colonel Hand's regiment of riflemen, 
who annoyed him with their fire and delayed his 
march. Early in the afternoon Greene was sent out 
with six hundred men and two guns to re-enforce 
Hand, and he disposed this little force to such ad- 
vantage that Cornwallis spent the whole afternoon 
before he could force Greene back into Trenton. It 
was four o'clock of a short winter day before he 
reached the town, so that he was obliged to postpone 
his attack until the following day. In the meantime 
Washington had formed his main body behind a little 
stream which runs through Trenton, and was prepared 
to make as good a defense as his small numbers would 
permit. But Cornwallis prudently decided to put his 
men into bivouac for the night, his pickets in con- 
tact with those of Washington. During the night 
Washington executed a movement of extraordinary 
boldness and skill. Sending his baggage down to 
Burlington, and leaving his camp fires burning, he 
withdrew from Cornwallis's front, marched around 
his left and rear, and at daylight was at Princeton. 
Here he met and overwhelmed with heavy loss three 
British regiments on their way to join Cornwallis at 



•v. 



THE JERSEYS. 65 

Trenton. He had intended to push on to New Bruns- 
wick and seize the British stores, but his men were 
too exhausted to justify the attempt, and he moved 
off toward the north, and by easy stages reached 
I Morristown on the 6th ,ot December. Cornwallis, 
dumbfounded at the absence of Washington's army 
on the morning of the 3d, started quickly for Prince- 
ton as soon as he heard the firing in that direction. 
He arrived just as Washington had left, but, instead 
of following Washington, he marched straight to New 
Brunswick to secure his stores. 

From Fort Lee to Morristown Washington had 
thus described a figure 00 , with Cornwallis always in 
pursuit, until the latter gave up the chase at Prince- 
ton. At one time he was in a corner at Trenton, and 
it seemed as if the end must speedily come, either in 
an attacK by overwhelming force, or in the disinte- 
gration of the army by expiration of enlistment and 
general discouragement and apathy. The English 
felt so confident of the latter result that they deemed 
it unnecessary to waste blood in an attack. But at 
the darkest hour Washington's bold strokes at Tren- 
ton and Princeton sent Cornwallis back to the line 
of the Raritan, and secured for himself a strong po- 
sition on the British flank, where he could safely pro- 
vide for the reorganization of his army and at the 
same time could paralyze his adversary's advance. 
Howe's Jersey campaign was at an end. For the 
next six months his force was neutralized, and he 
attempted nothing but a few feints. Finally he gave 
it up, and sent his troops around by sea to attack 
Philadelphia from the south. 

To what extent Greene participated in planning 
these movements it is impossible to say. In the 



d^ GENERAL GREENE. 

funeral oration pronounced by Hamilton before the 
Cincinnati in July, 1789, he says : " As long as the en- 
terprises of Trenton and Princeton shall be regarded 
as the dawning of that bright day which afterward 
broke forth with such resplendent luster, , . . so long 
ought the name of Greene to be revered by a grate- 
ful country." Hamilton served through the cam- 
paign, and at its close became Washington's secre- 
tary, so that he was well qualified to speak. But 
something must be allowed to the warmth of eulogy 
in a funeral oration upon a most intimate friend. To 
the Committee of Congress that congratulated him 
upon the victory, Washington with his usual gener- 
osity replied : " I assure you, the other general offi- 
cers, who assisted me in the plan and execution, have 
full as good a right to your encomiums as myself." 
To which Bancroft, never partial to Greene, adds: 
** The most useful of them all was Greene." That 
Greene's relations to Washington were of the most 
cordial and confidential nature there is no doubt, but, 
being associated in daily intercourse with him, there 
is but little record of it extant in writing. Greene 
was fully cognizant of the plans against Trenton, for 
on December 21st he wrote to Governor Cooke, of 
Rhode Island : " I hope to give the enemy a stroke 
in a few days." At the same time the Eastern dele- 
gates applied to have him sent to Rhode Island, which 
had just been invaded by a detachment from New 
York, but Washington would not consent to his leav- 
ing the army in Jersey, and Spencer was sent in his 
stead. The outlook for the coming year was so 
gloomy, that Washington felt compelled to write to 
Congress in the most earnest terms urging it to 
make provision for an army, and asking for enlarged 



THE JERSEYS. 6-r 

powers for himself. This he did on December 20th, 
and on the following day Greene wrote a similar let- 
ter advocating the same measures, and arguing that 
while the principle might be dangerous yet the situ- 
ation was critical, and that there was no danger that 
Washington would exceed his powers. " There never 
was a man that might be more safely trusted, nor a 
time when there was a louder call." No one but his 
closest friend would have assumed to write such a 
letter. The joint appeal was not without effect, and 
at Baltimore, where it had retired from Philadelphia, 
Congress passed, on December 27th, a resolution con- 
ferring upon Washington almost dictatorial powers 
for the period of six months. A few months later 
Washington selected Greene to proceed to Philadel- 
phia and appear before Congress in person, in order 
to explain fully the requirements of the army and 
his plans for the future. 

The next six months were passed in and about 
Morristown in comparative inaction. Greene went 
to Philadelphia in March, as already stated, and in 
May he was sent with Knox to examine the defences 
about West Point and give such instructions as 
he might deem necessary for the greater security 
of the passes in the Highlands. Upon the surrender 
of Ticonderoga, in July, it was proposed to send him 
to the Northern army under Schuyler, but Washing- 
ton again declined to part with him, and Lincoln and 
Arnold were sent in his place. 

The winter quarters at Morristown were bright- 
ened, as in the preceding year at Cambridge, by the 
presence of ladies. Mrs. Washington joined her hus- 
band, and several other ladies came to camp. But 
Mrs. Greene was unable to come. Her second child 



68 GENERAL GREENE. 

— Martha Washington Greene — was born in March, 
and she was subsequently very ill for several weeks; 
so that she did not arrive in Morristown until the 
middle of July, a few days before the army marched 
to Delaware. 

In the comparative leisure of this winter Greene 
resumed his voluminous correspondence with John 
Adams in Congress, Governor Cooke in Rhode Is- 
land, Generals Spencer and Arnold, who commanded 
in Rhode Island, and others. With Spencer and 
Arnold he discussed plans for driving the British 
out of Newport, but with the others his principal 
topic was always the raising of a permanent army to 
take the place of the annual levies and the ever-van- 
ishing militia. During the preceding September Con- 
gress had acknowledged the principle of a regular 
army, and had voted eighty-eight battalions, or sixty- 
six thousand men, to be raised by the various States 
and armed and equipped by them ; the men to serve 
during the war, and receive a bounty of $20 and a 
grant of land. Two months later it was resolved to 
give the men the option of enlisting for the war or for 
three years ; but in the latter case there was to be no 
grant of land. On December 27th the same resolu- 
tion which conferred dictatorial powers on Washing- 
ton for six months authorized him to raise from any 
part of the United States, in addition to the army 
voted in September, sixteen battalions of infantry, 
three thousand light horse, three regiments of artil- 
lery, and a corps of engineers; and he had authority 
to appoint the officers, equip the men, and establish 
their pay. But, as Washington had written to Con- 
gress in October, " there is a material difference be- 
tween voting battalions and raising men." Enlist- 



THE JERSEYS. (5q 

ments were slow, and the New England States, in 
order to encourage them, offered a large bounty in 
addition to that promised by Congress. This put a 
stop to recruiting in other States until they should 
offer the same inducements; and it did not help mat- 
ters in New England, for the recruits held off in the 
hope that the bounty would be still further increased. 
Finally, Rhode Island, after ordering the two bat- 
talions allotted by Congress, entered into competi- 
tion with them by ordering two regiments specially 
intended for defense against the British troops in 
Newport. Washington highly disapproved of this 
course, and Greene was specially mortified that, after 
all his arguments in favor of a strong Continental 
army, his own State should take a course so opposite 
to his views. He erroneously supposed that the two 
regiments were to be enlisted for service in the State 
only, and he wrote a vigorous letter to Governor 
Cooke protesting against the measure, and pointing 
out that if each State was simply to provide inde- 
pendently for its own defense the general cause must 
surely fail. The Governor was oifended at the letter, 
laid it before the Assembly, and replied that the two 
regiments were to be enlisted for the defense of the 
United States in general and their own State in par- 
ticular, but that they were liable to service in any 
State, and differed from the Continental battalions 
only in the fact that their term was for fifteen months 
instead of three years. Greene replied, apologizing 
for his error, and saying that love for his native place 
and zeal for the cause had led him to write so strongly, 
because he could " not help feeling himself wounded 
when anything transpired to the prejudice of the 
State." He was glad to know that the proposed regi- 



^o 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ments differed from the Continentals only in length 
of service ; but still he thought the measure unwise, 
because it would delay the formation of the Conti- 
nental battalions. 

In fact, the Assembly was hardly to blame. It 
simply followed the system, or lack of system, which 
characterized all the military measures of the day. 
When the State was invaded, a convention of repre- 
sentatives from all the New England States had met 
at Providence to devise means of repelling it, inde- 
pendent of Congress. Then Charles Lee, without 
consulting Washington, had sent to the Governor a 
fussy Frenchman named Malmedy, on the ground 
that there was no one in the State competent to com- 
mand the troops ; this gentleman contributed little to 
its defense, but occupied his time in writing letters 
in all directions, complaining that he had not been 
given sufficient rank, until finally Washington lost 
patience and notified him, on May i6th, that his 
" scruples were exceedingly perplexing, and he wished 
them to cease." Washington sent Spencer to take 
command in Rhode Island, and, after being there 
four months, this officer wrote to the Governor, 
without consulting Washington, requesting him to 
raise troops specially for the defense of the State — 
the very thing that Washington and Greene com- 
plained of. Finally, in April, Congress passed a 
resolution specifically calling on the State and the 
other New England States to collect their " entire 
force " and drive the British out of Rhode Island. 
Everywhere the militia ideas prevailed of calling out 
troops for a special emergency and then disbanding 
them, instead of conducting a well-considered cam- 
paign with a regular army under one head for the 



THE JERSEYS. 71 

benefit of the whole country. Washington and 
Greene were almost the only officers who appreciated 
the necessity of unity of command and a permanent 
force in order to secure ultimate success. 

In July, Greene came into sharp collision with 
Congress on a question of promotion. French of- 
ficers were beginning to arrive in considerable num- 
bers, under contracts made with Silas Deane, in Paris, 
by which they were to have very high rank. At their 
head was M. du Coudray, and it was rumored that 
he was to be appointed chief of artillery in place of 
Knox, with the rank of major-general, to date from 
August I, 1776, which would antedate the commis- 
sions of Sullivan and Greene. Du Coudray had been 
a colonel of artillery in France, and, while a man of 
undoubted talent, had seen but little service. Greene 
did not relish the idea of being overslaughed, and 
though he afterward conceived great admiration and 
friendship for Lafayette, Steuben, and Kosciusko, 
at this time he looked with distrust upon the advent 
of foreign adventurers. Moreover, Knox, who was 
to be directly supplanted, was his particular friend, 
for whom he had the highest regard. 

During the months of May and June Washington 
had several times written to Congress, and twice per- 
sonally to Richard Henry Lee, expressing his anxiety 
concerning these appointments, which might lead to 
the army being overrun with foreigners, and stating 
in particular that the appointment of Du Coudray 
to the command of the artillery would "involve 
the most injurious consequences." In the intimacy 
which Greene enjoyed with Washington he must 
have been cognizant of these letters, and doubtless 
the matter was fully discussed at headquarters. No 



72 



GENERAL GREENE, 



heed being paid to Washington's warnings, Greene 
determined to act on his own responsibility, and on 
the ist of July, therefore, he wrote to the President 
of the Congress a brief letter, stating the rumors he 
had heard, and added : " If the repprt be true, it 
will lay me under the necessity of resigning my 
commission, as his appointment supersedes me in 
command. I beg you'll acquaint me with respect to 
the truth of the report, and, if true, inclose me a 
permit to retire." Sullivan and Knox* wrote similar 
letters by the same mail. 

Congress was highly incensed, and, after deliber- 
ating on the matter two days, unanimously passed a 
resolution that the letters be sent to Washington, 
" with directions to him to let those officers know 
that Congress considers the said letters as an attempt 
to influence their decisions, an invasion of the liber- 
ties of the people, and indicating a lack of confidence 
in the justice of Congress; that it is expected by 
Congress the said officers will make proper acknowl- 
edgments for an interference of so dangerous a 
tendency ; but if any of those officers are unwilling 

* Mrs. Knox showed quite as much spirit in the matter as her 
husband. A few weeks before, she had written to him from Bos- 
ton : " A French general (Du Coudray), who styles himself com- 
mander in chief of the Continental artillery, is now in town. He 
says his appointment is from Mr. Deane ; that he is going immedi- 
ately to headquarters to take command ; that he is a major-general, 
and a deal of it. Who knows but I may have my Harry again ? 
This I am sure of: he will never suffer any one to command him 
in that department. If he does, he has not the soul which I now 
think him possessed of." It is easy to believe that the views ot 
John Adams and the Continental Congress would weigh but little 
in Knox's mind against an opinion of this sort from his " dear 
Lucy." 



THE JERSEYS. 7, 

to serve their country, under the authority of Con- 
gress, they shall be at liberty to resign their com- 
missions and retire." 

Washington simply forwarded the resolution with- 
out remark to the ofificers in question, and on July 
12th notified Congress that he had done so. 

The resolution had been drawn by John Adams, 
chairman of the Board of War. He also wrote a 
short private note to Greene, calling on him to 
apologize or resign. Greene did neither. He made 
no reply to Adams, but broke off his correspondence 
with him, and did not resume it until five years later. 
To Congress he wrote a dignified reply, and doubt- 
less his knowledge of Adams's character enabled 
him to draft it so skillfully. He had already had 
considerable correspondence with Adams on the sub- 
ject of foreign officers, and also of rank in the army. 
Adams could form no conception of the sentiments 
of pride and honor which actuate a soldier. In 
March he had written to Greene : " This delicate 
point of honor, which is really one of the most putrid 
corruptions of absolute monarchy . . . must be 
bridled. It is incompatible with republican princi- 
ples. I hope, for my own part, that Congress will 
elect annually all the general officers. If, in con- 
sequence of this, some great men should be obliged 
at the year's end to go home and serve their country 
in some other capacity, not less necessary and better 
adapted to their genius, I do not think that the 
country would be ruined." 

The same hasty temper that wrote these words 
had evidently drafted the resolution of Congress. 
Greene had no trouble in writing a calm and con- 
vincing reply, which caused Congress to drop all fur- 
6 



74 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ther reference to resignation or apology, and, after 
much deliberation, to appoint Du Coudray Inspec- 
tor-General of Ordnance and Military Manufacto- 
ries, with the rank of Major-General, to date from 
August nth of the year 1777. Thus Knox was not 
displaced, and Sullivan and Greene were not super- 
seded in rank. 

Sullivan and Knox made no reply to Congress, 
Greene's answer being apparently considered suf- 
ficient for all three. It was somewhat lengthy, but 
its tone was admirable and its logic was unanswer- 
able. He begins by saying : " I confess that it was 
a matter of infinite surprise to me that an interpreta- 
tion of so deep a complexion should have been put 
upon a meaning so innocent and inoffensive as that 
contained in those letters. Nor can I be persuaded 
but that Congress, upon a dispassionate review of 
the matter, will readily perceive that they have em- 
braced ideas by no means deducible from anything we 
have done, and will in justice recall a censure equally 
severe, unmerited, and injurious." He then explains 
fully the rumor which had reached camp concerning 
Du Coudray's appointment and his reasons for be- 
lieving it to be true, and continues : " My feelings as 
a soldier forbid my holding a command that was 
linked with evident signs of personal degradation. 
. . . Whatever influence I could have must be in 
proportion to the importance of my military char- 
acter ; take this away, and I stand upon the footing 
of a common citizen ; and it seems to me some- 
what extraordinary that an offer to lay aside should 
be deemed to import such dangerous consequences 
as are imputed to it. . . . With respect to that part 
of the resolution which declares * that if any of those 



THE JERSEYS. 75 

officers are unwilling to serve their country, under 
the authority of Congress, he shall have liberty to 
retire,' I answer that I have all the respect for 
Congress a free citizen ought to have for the repre- 
sentatives of himself and the collective body of the 
people, and that it is my glory and happiness to 
serve my country under the authority of those dele- 
gated by her to direct her councils and support her 
interests. I have not a single thought or wish in- 
consistent with this ; but at the same time I as 
freely answer that I esteem it my duty to do it in a 
manner compatible with the dignity of the man, the 
citizen, and that of a soldier, while I sustain the 
character; and will immediately renounce any sta- 
tion in which I can not act with honor, and have re- 
course to that in which I can flatter myself I shall 
always be ambitious of, the character of a useful and 
good member of society. In my military capacity I 
have served and will serve my country to the utmost 
of my ability, while I hold it, but I am determined to 
hold it not a moment longer than I can do it unsullied 
and unviolated." This letter was read in Congress 
July 23d, and ordered "to lie on the table"; from 
which it was never taken up. The position and rank 
finally accorded to Du Coudray were such as to do 
no injury to Sullivan, Greene, or Knox; and the 
unfortunate Du Coudray himself — the unwitting au- 
thor of this tempestuous little incident which, in 
the mind of John Adams, threatened such danger to 
American liberty — was accidentally drowned while 
crossing the Schuylkill River, a month after his ap- 
pointment. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE BRANDVWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 

By the middle of May, 1777, Washington had 
succeeded in assembling in New Jersey a force of 
forty-three battalions of the new Continental levies 
authorized in September and December of the pre- 
vious year. These came from New Jersey and the 
States to the south as far as Virginia, the New York 
and New England troops being ordered to the North- 
ern army or the passes of the Hudson. Washington 
organized his force into five divisions of two brigades 
each. The division commanders were Sullivan and 
Greene, whose commissions dated from August 9, 
1776, and Stirling, Stephen, and Lincoln, who had 
been promoted to be major-generals on the 21st of 
February, 1777, Knox was chief of artillery, and 
Pickering adjutant-general. The battalions were 
all small, the aggregate force amounting to eighty- 
three hundred and seventy-eight ofificers and men, and 
of these over two thousand were sick. The effective 
rank and file numbered fifty-seven hundred and 
thirty-eight. 

On the 23d of May, Greene was sent to select a 
site for an intrenched camp in the high hills just 
north of the Raritan at Bound Brook, and the army 
was posted in this position during the next few days, 
Washington's headquarters being moved there on 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 



77 



May 29th. Sullivan's division was at Princeton in 
advance of the right wing, in order to keep up com- 
munications with Philadelphia. Arnold, who com- 
manded temporarily at the latter point, was collect- 
ing militia behind the Delaware at Trenton. In this 
central position Washington waited to see what Howe 
would do. If he moved up the river to join Bur- 
goyne, he would meet him at Peekskill ; if he marched 
to Philadelphia, he would hang on his flanks; if he 
attacked him, he would make a good defense in a 
strong position of his own choosing. Howe did not 
feel strong enough to attack Washington, and he 
deemed it unsafe to march across to Philadelphia 
with Washington in his rear. In the month of April 
he had already decided to send his army by sea to 
attack Philadelphia from the south, but before em- 
barking he determined to make a final effort to entice 
Washington out from his position in the hills, being 
confident that if he could meet him in the open 
country his superiority in numbers and discipline 
would gain him the victory. On the 13th of June, 
therefore, he moved out with a strong force from 
Brunswick to Princeton, thus cutting Washington's 
communications with Philadelphia, and took up a 
good defensive position on the south of the Raritan, 
in which to receive an attack. But Washington 
stood fast ; he let go his communications with Phila- 
delphia, Sullivan simply retreating from Princeton to 
the hills on the west. He rightly judged that Howe 
did not intend to march to Philadelphia. This 
manoeuvre having failed, Howe retreated on the 19th 
to New Brunswick. Washington promptly sent 
Greene with his division, re-enforced by Wayne's 
brigade and Morgan's riflemen, in pursuit, at the 



78 GENERAL GREENE. 

same time ordering Sullivan to advance against his 
left flank, and Maxwell to intercept his retreat be- 
tween Brunswick and Amboy. These latter did not 
receive their orders in time to take part in the move- 
ment, but Greene came up with the r^ar of the Brit- 
ish at Brunswick on June 22d and pursued them 
through the town and across the Raritan, where they 
took position in their redoubts. They abandoned 
these as Greene advanced, and retreated to Amboy. 
He pursued them about five miles, and then, not 
wishing to get separated too far from the main body, 
he returned to Brunswick. 

Having failed in his feint against Washington's 
right, Howe now tried to turn his left and get 
possession of the passes in the hills, which would 
bring him in rear of Washington's left flank. On 
June 25th he sent Cornwallis in the direction of West- 
field and Scotch Plains. He had a sharp skirmish 
with Stirling's division, but, finding the passes well 
guarded, he retreated to Amboy. Howe then definitely 
abandoned New Jersey, and began the embarkation 
of his troops. 

For the next six weeks contradictory reports con- 
cerning the destination of Howe's fleet followed in 
quick succession. At one time they were reported 
moving up the Hudson, at another toward Delaware 
or Chesapeake Bay, and at still another toward 
Charleston. Washington made corresponding moves 
with his army, now toward Peekskill and again to- 
ward Philadelphia, always holding his force well in 
hand and using his interior lines to be first on the 
ground wherever Howe should land. Finally, on the 
22d of August, while Washington was near Trenton 
and intending to march for the Hudson, he received 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 



79 



positive intelligence that the fleet was two hundred 
miles up the Chesapeake. He turned about forth- 
with, marched his army through Philadelphia on 
Sunday, August 24th, the force drawn out to its 
greatest length in order to give an appearance of 
strength, and on the evening of the 25th, with 
Greene's division in the advance, reached Wilmington. 
Howe had landed in the northeast corner of Mary- 
land, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, on the same 
day. The Continental battalions had been filling up, 
two brigades had been brought from the Hudson, 
and the militia of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and 
Delaware had turned out in considerable numbers. 
All told, Washington's force numbered over fifteen 
thousand men, of whom eleven thousand were pres- 
ent for duty. Howe's muster rolls called for eighteen 
thousand, of whom fifteen thousand were available. 

On the 26th, Washington and Greene rode for- 
ward to two hills — Iron Hill and Gray's Hill — about 
twenty miles south of Wilmington and six or seven 
miles from Howe's camp. Lafayette had been com- 
missioned a major-general a few weeks before, and 
had joined Washington's headquarters as a volunteer 
when the army passed through Philadelphia. Wash- 
ington invited him to take part in this reconnois- 
sance, and here, or about this time, Greene first 
made Lafayette's acquaintance, and began that warm 
friendship which continued unbroken throughout the 
remaining years of Greene's life, and after his death 
was extended by Lafayette to Greene's son and 
grandson. But little was learned on this recon- 
noissance, which was, in fact, a foolhardy proceeding, 
and might easily have resulted in the capture of the 
entire party, as Lee had been captured near Morris- 



8o GENERAL GREENE. 

town in the previous year. But, fortunately, the 
British did not suspect what large game was in their 
neighborhood, and the little party returned safely 
to Wilmington the following day. 

Two days later Greene was directed to examine 
the ground still further, and select a position on 
which the army could be advantageously posted ; for 
Washington had decided to accept battle. Greene 
selected the ground near Iron Hill, his idea being 
that it would be best to fight as close as possible to 
the landing place, so as to give Howe no room for 
developing his army ; but before Greene's report 
reached Washington a council of war had been called, 
at which it was decided to post the army behind Red 
Clay Creek, a small stream about eight miles in front 
of Wilmington and twelve miles in rear of Iron Hill. 
When Greene saw this position he was of opinion 
that it could not be held. However, he faithfully 
complied with his orders, posted his division behind 
this stream, and the rest of the army came into line 
with him on September 7th. 

Howe moved forward slowly from his landing 
place, and it was the 8th of September before his 
advance began in earnest. He then deployed Knyp- 
hausen's division in front of the Red Clay Creek, 
but with his main body moved off to the west to 
turn Washington's right flank. Washington detected 
the movement at once, called a council of war dur- 
ing the night, saw that the Red Clay Creek position 
was untenable (as Greene had predicted), and at 2 
A. M. put his troops in motion toward the rear and 
right, to take position behind the Brandywine at 
Chad's Ford, twelve miles west of Wilmington. They 
reached the Brandywine during the morning of the 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 8 1 

loth, and were all posted before night. Greene, 
with his own division, composed of Muhlenberg's and 
Weedon's Virginia brigades, re-enforced by Wayne's 
brigade and Maxwell's light troops, commanded the 
center, in rear of Chad's Ford. Sullivan, with his 
own division and those of Stirling and Stephen, com- 
manded the right wing, posted about two miles along 
the river above Greene. The Pennsylvania militia, 
under Armstrong, was to watch the fords on Greene's 
left. 

On the loth Howe moved toward the Brandy- 
wine and assembled his force at Kennett's Square, 
about seven miles south of Chad's Ford. On the 
nth he divided his army into two detachments — one, 
of about five thousand men under Knyphausen, which 
moved toward Chad's Ford, and the other, of over 
ten thousand under Cornwallis, which marched off 
to the left. About lo a. m. Knyphausen deployed 
in front of Chad's Ford and began a brisk skirmish 
with Maxwell's light troops which crossed the river 
to meet him, but he made no real attack. Mean- 
while the larger force under Cornwallis made a 
wide turning movement, crossed the river several 
miles above Sullivan's right, and during the after- 
noon appeared in the rear of his right flank — having 
marched completely around Sullivan without being 
discovered. It was the same flanking manoeuvre 
which had succeeded so well at Long Island a year 
before, and it only failed of complete success here in 
consequence of the prompt action taken by Washing- 
ton, and the skill and determination with which 
Greene carried out his orders. 

During the morning Washington had sent officers 
to reconnoiter on the south side of the Brandywine, 



82 GENERAL GREENE. 

and from one of them, about eleven o'clock, he re- 
ceived intelligence that a large body of Howe's 
army, estimated at more than five thousand men, 
had passed along a road parallel to the river and 
moving westward. Washington at once suspected 
Howe's intention to turn his right flank, and he sent 
orders to Sullivan to move across the river and 
attack the turning column while still on the march; 
and at the same time gave orders to Greene to cross 
at Chad's Ford and attack Knyphausen. Some of 
Greene's men were already across the river about 
noon, when word was received from Sullivan that 
the officers sent out by him to reconnoiter had re- 
ported no enemy on the south side of the river op- 
posite his position. Supposing Washington's orders 
to be based on erroneous information, he waited for 
further instructions. Unfortunately, Sullivan's in- 
formation was wrong and Washington's was right ; 
nevertheless, in view of the uncertainty, Washington 
was not justified in sending Greene's division to 
attack what might be the entire British army ; he 
therefore revoked the order to Greene, and his troops 
withdrew to their original position after a brisk 
skirmish. The next intelligence was a note from 
Sullivan, dated 2 p. m., saying that " the enemy 
are in rear of my right about two miles, coming 
down." Between four and five o'clock the sound of 
heavy firing was heard in the direction indicated in 
Sullivan's dispatch. Washington set off at a gallop 
to join Sullivan, telling Greene to leave Wayne to 
hold his own against Knyphausen as long as he could, 
and with his two brigades of Virginians to come to 
Sullivan's aid with the utmost possible speed. Greene 
lost no time, and marched his men toward the sound 



THE BRANDYVVINE AND GERMANTOWN. 83 

of the firing, most of the way at double quick, and 
covering nearly four miles of road in forty-five min- 
utes. When he arrived on the ground between Dil- 
worth and Birmingham meeting-house Sullivan's di- 
vision had just broken, and, in spite of the most gal- 
lant efforts of Sullivan, Stirling, and Lafayette to rally 
the men, they were in full retreat, Greene opened 
his ranks to let the fugitives pass through, and then 
retired slowly and in good order before Cornwallis, 
contesting every inch, and using his artillery to great 
advantage. After falling back in this manner about 
half a mile he came to a narrow pass in the road 
well secured on each side by woods. Here he made 
a determined stand, and held his own until twilight 
against a force fully three times more numerous than 
his own. During his defense some order was estab- 
lished in the broken fragments of Sullivan's regi- 
ments in his rear ; and Wayne's brigade, which had 
been driven back in confusion from Chad's Ford by 
the superior force of Knyphausen, also made good 
its retreat behind Greene's division. Finally, as 
night came on, Greene withdrew in good order on 
the Chester road. Howe did not pursue him, but 
went into camp at Dilworth for the night. He re- 
ported his losses as ninety killed and four hundred 
and eighty-eight wounded. The American loss was 
estimated at three hundred killed and six hundred 
wounded ; the dead were left on the field, and the 
greater part of the wounded were made prisoners. 

In this action more men were engaged than in 
any other battle of the war, and although the losses 
were not quite as heavy as at Germantown, three 
weeks later, yet there were more killed and wounded 
than in any engagement which had taken place up 



84 GENERAL GREENE. 

to that time. Superiority in numbers, a still greater 
superiority in organization, discipline, and equipment, 
and, above all, the failure of Sullivan thoroughly to 
reconnoiter the ground in his front and obtain ac- 
curate information of the enemy's raovements, gave 
the victory to the British. It was a disastrous defeat, 
and ultimately gave the enemy possession of Phila- 
delphia. Nothing but the skill and steadfast cour- 
age of Greene and the gallant Virginia regiments 
under his command saved this defeat from being 
turned into a rout and the destruction of the entire 
army. In his report, Howe claimed that another 
hour of daylight would have completed the " total 
overthrow " of the American army. But Greene 
fully realized the necessity of holding his position 
until dark, and during the last hour of daylight 
Howe was unable to make any progress against him. 
On the day after the battle Washington retreated 
to Germantown. Howe did not follow him, but re- 
mained for two days in the vicinity of the battlefield 
to bury his dead. After giving his men one day's 
rest, Washington boldly crossed the Schuylkill again, 
determined to attack Howe. The two armies came 
together on the i6th, near White Horse Tavern, 
about twenty-five miles southwest of Philadelphia. 
But here an accident occurred, to which in these 
days of fixed ammunition armies are no longer sub- 
ject. A violent rain-storm arose, and the men were 
so drenched that their ammunition, of which they had 
just secured a full supply of forty rounds per man, 
was completely ruined. There was nothing to do 
but to move up the Schuylkill as far as Reading Fur- 
nace, where there were fresh supplies. Several days 
of feints and manoeuvres followed, at the close of 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. $$ 

which Howe, having threatened Washington's right 
flank and induced him to move up the Schuylkill, 
rapidly countermarched, crossed the Schuylkill at 
Parker's Ford, and marched down to Germantown. 
Washington's army was worn out, and so badly 
clothed and shod and so deficient in transportation, 
that it was impossible for him to race with Howe for 
the possession of Philadelphia. Howe therefore 
took possession on September 26th, the main body 
of his troops, however, remaining in camp at Ger- 
mantown, 

Washington sent immediately to Putnam and 
Gates for re-enforcements, and moved up to Skip- 
pack Creek, about twenty miles west of Philadelphia. 
Here he waited for a favorable opportunity to attack 
Howe, for, in spite of its reverses, the army was in high 
spirits and felt confident of success in another battle. 
The opportunity came on the 3d of October, when 
Washington learned through intercepted letters that 
Howe had detached a portion of his force across the 
Delaware River to attack the forts below Philadel- 
phia. Washington called a council of war, which 
was unanimously in favor of making an attack with- 
out waiting for further re-enforcements. 

Germantown was then a straggling village, ex- 
tending for about two miles along the high road 
which follows the ridge just east of and parallel to 
theWissahickon. Twenty-two battalions, numbering 
probably about nine thousand men, of Howe's army 
were posted there in a line at right angles to the 
main road ; their center was at the market house, in 
the middle of the village, their left rested on the 
Wissahickon near its mouth, and their right was on 
the old York road. 



86 GENERAL GREENE. 

Washington, with eight thousand Continentals and 
three thousand militia, was in rear of the Metuchen 
Hills, sixteen miles from the Germantown market 
house. His plan of attack was as follows : Sullivan 
was to command the right wing, composed of his own 
and Wayne's divisions and Conway's brigade, and 
was to follow the main road and attack the British 
left. Greene was to command the left wing, com- 
posed of his own and Stephen's divisions and Mc- 
Dougall's brigade, and was to follow the Limekiln 
road, which, coming from the northeast, meets the 
main road at the market house ; he was to attack 
the British right. Stirling with his division was to 
form the reserve, following the main road, in rear of 
Sullivan. The Pennsylvania militia under Armstrong 
were to move down between the Schuylkill and the 
Wissahickon, cross the latter near its mouth, and 
strike the British left flank and rear. The Maryland 
and Jersey militia, under Smallwood and Forman, 
were to follow the old York road on the extreme 
left and attack the British right and rear. The 
troops were to move at dusk on the 3d of October, 
march all night, and, moving along four different 
converging roads, covering a front of five miles, 
were to attack at daybreak. It was certainly a bold 
design to attack the best regular troops of Europe 
with untrained Continentals and militia, on so com- 
plicated a plan ; yet it came within an ace of success. 

The army began moving from Skippack Creek at 
7 p. M., and passed the Metuchen Hills at nine. 
Washington was with Sullivan's wing. Greene had 
two miles farther to march than the rest of the 
army. Whether his wing was in advance so as to 
insure his arriving in time is not recorded, but 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 



87 



Pickering, who was then adjutant-general, states that 
Greene's guide lost the road in the night and caused 
a serious delay. Day broke with a dense fog, which 
hindered the march along a road with which the 
ofificers were not familiar. From these causes Greene 
did not come into action until Sullivan had been en- 
gaged for three quarters of an hour, and his plans 
were much deranged by Greene's non-arrival. The 
Pennsylvania militia moved down within sight of the 
mill at the mouth of the Wissahickon, had a skirmish 
in which they lost twenty men, and then retreated. 
The Maryland and Jersey militia do not appear to 
have come into action at all, and a few days later 
the Jersey militia went home. Stephen's division 
left the road just as it was coming into action, and 
fired into Wayne's division and then retreated.* 
In this way nearly half the army was eliminated ; the 
battle was fought by the divisions of Sullivan, Greene, 
Stirling, and Wayne. 

Sullivan's column, with Conway's brigade in the 
advance, came upon the British pickets at Mount 
Airy, about two miles in advance of the market 
house, soon after daybreak. The alarm was at once 
given, and the Fortieth British Regiment, under 
Colonel Musgrave, was sent forward to support the 
picket. A sharp skirmish resulted, the British gradu- 
ally falling back. Nothing being heard of Greene 
on the left, Sullivan deployed Wayne's division on 
the left of the main road and his own on the right, 
and continued to drive back the British until they 
reached a stone house belonging to Chief-Justice 

* Stephen was tried by court-martial a few days after the battle, 
found guilty of intoxication, and dismissed. 



gg GENERAL GREENE. 

Chew. Musgrave threw his regiment into this house 
and opened fire from the windows. Sullivan and 
Wayne pushed on toward the market house, while 
Maxwell's brigade was brought up from the reserve 
to attack the Chew house, but was unable to capture 
it. Wayne was at first brought back to assist in this 
attack, but was then sent forward again to join 
Sullivan ; and the remaining brigade of the reserve 
under Nash was also brought up on Sullivan's right. 
By this time Howe had brought forward his entire 
force, and a very hot fight took place in the village 
just north of the market. Washington, with his 
usual impetuosity when confronted with danger, was 
in the thick of this fight, in spite of the remonstrance 
of his officers. Just as it was growing warm, Greene 
came up the Limekiln road, with his own division 
on the left and Stephen's on the right. Stephen left 
the road and marched through the fog toward the 
firing on his right. This brought him into collision 
with Wayne, and both divisions were thrown into 
confusion and began to retreat. In spite of these 
checks, however, the battle was not lost. Sullivan 
and Nash continued to push the British along the 
main road, and Greene with his own division pushed 
. their right along the Limekiln road until he reached 
the market house in the center of the village. It 
was a very spirited engagement, which lasted for 
about two hours after Greene came up, and two 
hours and forty minutes from the time Sullivan's 
advance guard opened fire on the British pickets at 
Mount Airy. It was afterward learned that the 
British feared the day was going against them and 
made all their preparations for a retreat to Chester. 
Just as victory seemed within its grasp a panic seized 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 



89 



the American army, and it began a precipitate re- 
treat. The exact cause of this panic has never been 
clearly ascertained or stated. Washington attributed 
it to the dense fog, which made it impossible to see 
more than thirty paces, and left the different divisions 
to fight independently without common command. 
Moreover, a part of the troops had exhausted their 
ammunition. Some one seems to have raised the 
cry that they were surrounded, and color was lent to 
this idea by the firing in the rear, which still con- 
tinued around the Chew house. Whatever its cause, 
the panic could not be arrested even by the most 
gallant efforts of the commanding officers, and the 
troops retreated precipitately by the main road, 
Greene's division bringing up the rear. As the re- 
treat began, Cornwallis, who had been summoned 
from Philadelphia, arrived on the field and was sent 
in pursuit. Greene's division, with Pulaski's cavalry, 
protected the rear, and kept up a running fight with 
Cornwallis for about five miles, when the latter gave 
up the pursuit. Not a gun was lost in the retreat. 
By night the troops were all back at their original 
positions on Skippack Creek. Their losses were one 
hundred and fifty-two killed and five hundred and 
twenty-one wounded, and four hundred prisoners, 
many of whom were among the wounded. Howe 
reported his own loss at five hundred and thirty-five 
killed and wounded, although, from some papers 
afterward found in Germantown, there is reason to 
believe it was nearer eight hundred. 

Greene seems to have felt very keenly the loss 

of this battle, which came so near being a decisive 

victory ; for it is probably in reference to this that he 

wrote to Washington, six weeks later : " In one in- 

7 



90 GENERAL GREENE. 

Stance I thought I felt the lower of your Excellency's 
countenance, when I am sure I had no reason to ex- 
pect it." But Washington replied in most cordial 
terms, subscribing himself "With sincere regard and 
affection," and stating, " You seem to have imbibed a 
suspicion which I never entertained." 

At this time there was considerable jealousy in 
the army at Greene's influence and intimacy with 
Washington, and this jealousy was shared not only 
by the members of the Conway cabal, but by some 
of Washington's most loyal supporters. Greene 
probably feared that the unavoidable delay in his 
arrival on the field would be seized by his enemies 
as a pretext to throw the responsibility for the defeat 
on his shoulders. No open criticism of this char- 
acter, however, was made by his contemporaries. 
Some hints of censure were made, but, as Henry Lee 
described them, " they were too feeble to attract 
notice when leveled at a general whose uniform 
conduct had already placed him high in the con- 
fidence of his chief and of the army." It was re- 
served for Bancroft, ninety years later, with char- 
acteristic malice, to make the charge, but no other 
historian has supported him. In fact, the charge 
was without foundation. Greene had shown both 
skill and courage on this day, and was in no way re- 
sponsible for the disaster. It was one of those acci- 
dents to which untrained troops are always liable, no 
matter how great their individual courage. 

After the battle of Germantown Washington re- 
mained in camp facing Howe for over two months. 
He was very anxious to attack him again, but his men 
were short of ammunition and badly clothed, and 
their numbers were inferior to those of the British. 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. 



91 



Washington therefore sent Hamilton to visit Gates 
at Albany and Putnam at Peekskill, and obtain re- 
enforcements. Howe turned his attention to redu- 
cing the forts on the banks of the Delaware River 
below Philadelphia. In the first effort he was not 
successful. Count Donopwith twelve hundred Hes- 
sians, on the 22d of October, attacked Fort Mercer 
at Red Bank, commanded by Nathanael Greene's 
kinsman, Colonel Christopher Greene. He made a 
gallant defense, for which Congress presented him 
with a sword and a vote of thanks. Donop was killed, 
and his force defeated with a loss of one third of its 
strength. On the 15th of November a combined 
land and naval attack was made on Fort Mififiin, 
which resulted in its capture. A few days later 
Cornwallis was sent to Chester with about three 
thousand men, and, being joined by twenty-five hun- 
dred re-enforcements from New York, he crossed 
the Delaware and advanced against Fort Mercer 
from the south. The place was untenable in face of 
such a large force, and was evacuated on the night 
of the 20th of November. As soon as Washington 
heard of Cornwallis crossing the Delaware at Chester, 
he detached Greene with his own division (Muhlen- 
berg's and Weedon's brigades), re-enforced by Mc- 
Dougall's brigade, with orders to cross the river at 
Burlington and move south to the relief of Fort 
Mercer, and, if possible, to engage Cornwallis. But 
the movement was ordered too late. On the very 
day that Greene started from camp. Fort Mercer 
was evacuated. Varnum, who had lately arrived 
from the north with his brigade to re-enforce Chris- 
topher Greene at Fort Mercer, fell back to Mount 
Holly. Greene crossed the river at Burlington and 



92 



GENERAL GREENE. 



reached Mount Holly on the 23d. Here he was 
joined by Morgan's light infantry returning from 
Saratoga, and he was expecting daily the arrival of 
Glover's brigade. In all, his force numbered be- 
tween three thousand and four thousand men. 
Greene's instructions from Washington intimated a 
wish that he should attack Cornwallis. He was 
therefore placed in the same position, on a smaller 
scale, as Washington himself. In each case public 
opinion demanded an attack and a victory, and ex- 
pressed its condemnation of Fabian tactics. And in 
each case the judgment of the commanding general 
and his subordinates was against an attack, because 
it had no prospect of success, on account of in- 
feriority in numbers, discipline, and position. It was 
under these circumstances that, on November 24th, 
Greene wrote to Washington the letter from which 
an extract has been given so far as it related to Ger- 
mantown. In relation to the case in hand, it stated 
that his own judgment and that of his brigade com- 
manders were against the propriety of an attack. 
" But if your Excellency wishes the attack to be 
made immediately, give me only your countenance, 
and, notwithstanding it is contrary to the opinion of the 
general officers here, I will take all the consequences 
upon myself. ... I will run any risk or engage 
under any disadvantage, if I can only have your 
countenance if unfortunate." It is small wonder 
that toward a subordinate who united such loyal de- 
votion with intelligence and energy Washington 
should have been accused of partiality. When 
Washington received this letter he had information 
that Cornwallis was about to recross the Delaware, 
and that Howe was meditating an attack. He there- 



THE BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN, 



93 



fore recalled Greene, and two days later he sent a 
second order telling him to hasten his march. He 
arrived in camp on the 30th, and while he had not 
engaged Cornwallis, yet his good judgment was 
fully approved. Marshall sums up this week's cam- 
paign by saying: "That judicious officer feared the 
reproach of avoiding an action less than the just cen- 
sure of sacrificing the real interests of his country 
by engaging his enemy on disadvantageous terms." 
Washington's surmise that Howe meditated an 
attack was correct. On December 4th he moved 
out to Chestnut Hill in face of Washington's army, 
and, after manoeuvring in front of him for four days, 
" decamped very hastily and marched back to Phila- 
delphia," where he went into winter quarters. It 
was necessary for Washington to do the same. 
Greene's opinion was in favor of quartering in the 
town of Wilmington, but Washington finally decided 
in favor of Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill, twenty- 
five miles from Philadelphia. Here the troops ar- 
rived on December 19th, and began cutting trees to 
build their huts for the winter. 



CHAPTER VII. 

APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL VALLEY 

FORGE, MONMOUTH, AND NEWPORT — 1777-'78, 

The winter at Valley Forge was destined to be 
one of historic hardship, but its beginning was not 
more uncomfortable than the summer and autumn 
had been. The men were in good spirits and cheer- 
fully set about building their huts. Washington 
prescribed the manner of construction, personally 
watched their progress, and offered a reward for the 
squad which should finish its hut in the quickest and 
most workmanlike manner, and another prize to 
whomsoever should invent some practical method of 
roofing, as boards were not to be had. There were 
but two or three houses in or near the camp ground, 
and these were taken by Washington, Lafayette, and 
Knox. The other officers, including Greene, were 
quartered in huts a little larger than those of the 
men, but built in the same manner. Early in the 
winter Mrs. Washington came to camp, and she was 
soon followed by Mrs. Greene, Mrs. Knox, Lady 
Stirling, and the wives of other officers. In addition 
to Lafayette, there were Fleury, Armand, Duplessis, 
and other well-bred and agreeable young Frenchmen ; 
De Kalb had lately arrived, and Pulaski was in com- 
mand of the light horse; in Washington's staff were 
Hamilton and Laurens ; and Greene's particular 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 



95 



friends Varnum and Ward were both present with 
their commands. On the 23d of February Steuben 
arrived, bringing with him letters of recommenda- 
tion from the highest military authorities in Europe ; 
and with him came his light-hearted young secretary, 
Duponceau, who describes Mrs. Greene as " a hand- 
some, elegant, and accomplished woman, whose 
dwelling was the resort of foreign officers, because 
she spoke the French language and was well versed 
in French literature." * It was a charming society, 
though they lived in huts, were surrounded with 
deep snow, and had so little to eat or wear that the 
subaltern officers gave bachelor dinners of tough 
beefsteak and potatoes, with hickory nuts for des- 
sert, to which no one was eligible who owned a 
whole pair of breeches. The principal officers and 
the ladies who were in camp met two or three even- 
ings in the week at their own quarters or those of 
Washington; cards were prohibited, and there was 
no place to dance, but every one who could sing was 
called upon for a song. 

* This remark must be interpreted rather as an evidence of 
Mrs. Greene's pleasing manners than as a statement of positive 
fact. Only a short time before, Greene, in writing to his wife, 
telling her to make arrangements for coming to camp in company 
with Mrs. Knox, had cautioned her to be very particular about 
her spelling, in which she was sometimes careless. Mrs. Knox, 
being the wife of a bookseller and fond of books herself, was quite 
proficient in this respect, and Greene did not wish his wife to 
suffer by comparison. Mrs. Greene had been brought upon Block 
Island, and prior to the war had never traveled beyond the homes 
of her relatives in Rhode Island. She had a good mind and was 
fairly well educated for the times ; and she was undoubtedly a very 
agreeable woman. But her knowledge of the French language 
and French literature must certainly have been less than Dupon- 
ceau so politely states. 



96 



GENERAL GREENE. 



In the midst of these mild diversions, however, 
Washington was most anxious about the state of his 
army. It was deficient in discipline and drill, it was 
ragged and barefooted, and it was on the verge of 
starvation, the supply of food being so precarious 
that sometimes the men had no meat for three or 
four days at a time. Unless the discipline of the 
army and its methods of obtaining supplies could be 
speedily improved, it was likely to dissolve during 
the winter, Washington addressed himself to these 
problems as soon as the huts were finished, and he 
called on each of the general officers to submit his 
views on the subject in writing. From these he drew 
up his own plan, which was just completed when a 
committee of Congress, consisting of Francis Dana, 
Charles Carroll, Joseph Reed, Gouverneur Morris, 
and Nathaniel Folsom, came to camp to consult with 
him. They approved his plan, and it was subse- 
quently adopted by Congress. The arrival of Steu- 
ben soon after enabled Washington to solve the 
military part of the problem. Steuben studied the 
situation, and, with the aid of advice which he says 
he received from Greene, Laurens, and Hamilton, he 
formulated a plan of inspection and drill which re- 
ceived Washington's approval. Steuben was ap- 
pointed inspector general to carry it out. Though 
he had been a lieutenant general in Europe, and had 
served under the great Frederick, the first soldier of 
the age, yet he soon made drilling fashionable by 
forming a model squad of one man from each regi- 
ment and drilling them himself, musket in hand, and 
swearing alternately in German and French as he 
trudged through the snow. 

For the administrative part of the problem Wash- 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 07 

ington turned to Greene. The quartermaster's de- 
partment was in a state of chaos, and the quarter- 
master general (Mifflin), though he still held office, 
had not been seen or heard of — except as he in- 
trigued with Gates and Conway against Washington 
— for months. Washington pressed Greene to take 
the office and introduce some order into the depart- 
ment. The Committee of Congress seconded this 
appeal. But the place was not at all to his taste. A 
year later he wrote to Washington : " There is a great 
difference between being raised to an office and de- 
scending to one, which is my case. There is also a 
great difference between serving where you have a 
fair prospect of honor and laurels and where you 
have no prospect of either, let you discharge your 
duties ever so well. Nobody ever heard of a quar- 
termaster in history." And in a letter to Knox, ask- 
ing his advice while the matter was still pending, he 
says : *' His Excellency also presses it upon me ex- 
ceedingly. I hate the place, but hardly know what to 
do ; the general is afraid that the department will be 
so ill managed unless some [one] of his friends under- 
takes it that the operations of the next campaign will 
in a great measure be frustrated." His tastes were 
entirely in the line of strictly military service, and he 
shrank from entering upon a semi-civil employment 
where his means would be unequal to his task, and 
where he well knew the least mistake or failure 
would be seized upon by his enemies and those of 
Washington to undermine his reputation. But Wash- 
ington told the committee that he "would stand 
quartermaster no longer," and finally Greene yielded 
to his solicitations, and those of Reed and Morris of 
the committee in whose friendship and judgment he 



98 



GENERAL GREENE. 



had great confidence, so far as to agree that he 
would direct the department for a year, provided he 
had nothing to do with the accounts and received no 
other compensation than that of a major general. 
This plan the committee declared was inadmissible. 
He then agreed to take the office on the same terms 
as his deputies could be engaged for, but he stipu- 
lated two conditions which were agreed to : first, that 
he should retain his rank in the line, and second, that 
he should appoint his subordinates. He chose as 
assistant quartermasters general Colonel Cox, a 
prominent merchant in Philadelphia, and Mr. Pettit, 
Secretary of State in New Jersey. The committee 
wrote to Congress with much satisfaction of their 
success, saying that they had " had great difficulty 
in prevailing upon these gentlemen to undertake the 
business," and that "nothing but a thorough convic- 
tion of the absolute necessity of straining every 
nerve in the service could have brought the gentle- 
men into office upon any terms." Congress made 
the appointments on March 2d, and, following the 
custom of the time, fixed their compensation at a 
commission of one per cent upon the money issued 
to the department, to be divided among the three as 
they should agree. Greene proposed an equal di- 
vision of the commission. 

The details of the measures which Greene adopted 
in reorganizing the quartermaster's department have 
not been preserved. We only know the general 
results. What the army needed most of all was 
means of transportation, and for lack of these its 
movements had been hampered and its plans frus- 
trated more than once. It also needed clothing and 
tents for the men and forage for the animals. 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 



99 



Greene therefore scoured the country for horses and 
teams, and visited the State Legislature at Lancaster 
to confer with it in regard to impressment in case 
other means failed. He dunned Congress incessantly 
for money to buy shoes and cloth and canvas; and 
he established a chain of magazines or depots of 
supplies stretching from the head of Elk through 
Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Jersey to the Hudson, 
and containing in all eight hundred and forty thou- 
sand bushels of grain. He was obliged to insist to 
Congress on his right to appoint his subordinate 
agents if he was to be held responsible for his de- 
partment, and he protested successfully against the 
attempts of the new Board of War to interfere in the 
management of his business and issue instructions 
for the purchase of supplies without consulting him. 
The net result of his labors is best stated in an ex- 
tract from a letter of Washington written about two 
years later : " When you were prevailed upon to 
take the office in March, 1778, it was in great dis- 
order and confusion, and, by extraordinary exertions, 
you so arranged it as to enable the army to take 
the field the moment it was necessary, and to move 
with rapidity after the enemy when they left Phila- 
delphia." 

While Greene was organizing the quartermaster's 
department and Steuben was drilling the squads, the 
spring had passed. Howe had been relieved of his 
command and Sir Henry Clinton had succeeded him. 
The questions which Washington was debating with 
his officers were. What will Clinton do ? and What 
action shall the army take ? These questions were 
considered at several councils of war. Lee had 
recently been exchanged and come back into the 



100 GENERAL GREENE. 

army amid much rejoicing, his weak and treacherous 
character not yet being appreciated by Washington 
or any of his subordinate commanders. He was as- 
signed to the command of a division consisting of 
Poor's, Varnum's, and Huntington's brigades. Wash- 
ington's force consisted of about twelve thousand 
Continentals and three thousand militia, and Clinton 
had nineteen thousand five hundred men in Phila- 
delphia. 

At the first council of war (April 20th) Greene 
was in favor of leaving the main body of the army 
under Lee at Valley Forge, while Washington with 
a picked corps of four thousand men made an attack 
on New York. But this proposition was not sup- 
ported by the other officers. At the second council 
(May 8th) the opinion was unanimous to remain on 
the defensive and wait events. At the third council 
(June 17th) the question was propounded whether 
in case the enemy marched toward New York, he 
should be attacked on the way. Lee was strongly 
opposed to any attack, and such was still his in- 
fluence that all the other officers supported him 
except Greene, Lafayette, Wayne, and Cadwalader. 
These were in favor of a vigorous attack at the first 
favorable opportunity. Washington shared the same 
views. In fact, he had not been listlessly waiting; 
his army was in complete readiness to move on short 
notice, and he was simply watching his chance to fall 
on Clinton the moment he left Philadelphia. This 
happened on the day after the council, and on the 
same day he put Lee in motion with six thousand 
men for Coryell's Ferry, above Trenton ; the next 
morning he followed in person with the rest of 
the army. The two armies were thus marching in 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL, iqi 

parallel lines across Jersey. Washington moved 
more rapidly than Clinton, who was encumbered 
with a baggage train twelve miles long, and he 
reached Princeton in time to head off Clinton's march 
on Brunswick, where he had intended to embark his 
men. The latter was therefore compelled to deflect 
to the right and march for Sandy Hook, At Hope- 
well, near Princeton, another council was held on 
June 24th, at which the question to be considered was 
the advisability of making a general attack. Greene, 
Lafayette, and Wayne advocated this, while Lee 
again opposed it and carried the majority of the 
officers with him. After the council Greene and the 
other two submitted their views in writing, urging 
that a strong detachment be sent against Clinton's 
rear and that the main body of the army be put in 
position to support this detachment and bring on 
a general engagement. Washington had the same 
opinion, and he gave the necessary orders the follow- 
ing morning. 

The result was the battle of Monmouth, fought 
on Sunday, June 28th. It was well planned, the 
army was in fine condition, in excellent spirits, and 
better drilled and disciplined than at any other peri- 
od of the war. The advantage of position was on 
Washington's side, and there was every reason to ex- 
pect a crushing defeat and the possible capture of 
the British army. But, owing to Charles Lee's com- 
bined treason and cowardice, the result was a drawn 
battle and the escape of the British during the fol- 
lowing night. The only redeeming feature was that 
Lee's career here came to an end. He was court- 
martialed, suspended for a year, and at the end of 
that period dismissed by Congress. 



102 GENERAL GREENE. 

In this march and in the battle Greene acted in 
the dual capacity of quartermaster general and com- 
mander of the right wing. As the former he laid 
out the route and order of each day's march and 
selected the camping grounds. Lee being in com- 
mand of a large detachment, comprising two fifths 
of the entire force, Greene was assigned in his place 
to the command of the right wing of the main body 
under Washington, the left wing being commanded 
by Stirling. This body came on the field about 
noon, just after Lee had made his disgraceful retreat, 
and it was formed on high ground between the Free- 
hold meeting-house and Wenrock brook. Clinton 
made two vigorous attacks against this position, 
first trying to turn Stirling's left and then to turn 
Greene's right ; but in both he was repulsed. Some 
artillery which Greene had posted on his extreme 
right not only aided to defeat Clinton's attack in 
that direction, but enfiladed his entire line; and this, 
combined with an advance of Wayne's brigade, 
caused him to retire about half a mile to the east of 
Wenrock brook. Washington intended to renew 
the attack, but, owing to the extreme heat and the 
approach of darkness, this was postponed until morn- 
ing, and then the British were gone. 

The American loss was sixty-nine killed, one 
hundred and sixty-nine wounded, and one hundred 
and thirty-two missing, many of whom were merely 
overcome by the heat and turned up in a day or 
two. Clinton reported his losses as one hundred 
and twenty-four killed, one hundred and seventy 
wounded, and sixty-four missing ; but there was a 
serious error in these figures, as two hundred and 
forty-nine were buried by the Americans alone. 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 103 

Clinton's total losses from battle, heat, and desertion, 
during his march across Jersey, were about two 
thousand men. 

This was the last of the series of battles begun 
at Long Island nearly two years before ; there was 
no further fighting in this part of the country, and 
none under Washington's immediate direction until 
the siege of Yorktown, three years later. Had 
Greene or Stirling or Wayne been in command of 
the advanced detachment in place of Lee, it is prob- 
able that these three years of straggling warfare 
might have been saved by the capture of Clinton's 
army. The proof of Lee's treason was not dis- 
covered until seventy years later, but it is now evi- 
dent that it resulted in far greater injury to the 
American cause than that of Arnold. 

From Monmouth to Sandy Hook is a distance of 
only twenty miles. Clinton had a day's start, and 
on arriving at his destination would be under the 
protection of the guns of his fleet. Washington saw 
that nothing could be accomplished by following 
him, and he therefore marched for the Hudson 
River, to prevent any possible attack on the passes in 
the Highlands. He arrived in his old manoeuvring 
ground, between White Plains and Haverstraw Bay, 
on July 20th. 

While Washington was moving from Monmouth 
to White Plains, Greene had been, at various points 
along the Hudson River, engaged in collecting trans- 
portation and stores, selecting sites for camps, and 
otherwise attending to the business of the quarter- 
master's department. While thus employed he was 
subjected to one of those outbursts of temper from 
which Washington, in spite of his marvelous self- 



I04 



GENERAL GREENE. 



control, was not free. Hamilton, who lived in daily 
contact with Washington, was always anticipating an 
outburst of this kind, and he wrote to his father-in- 
law, General Schuyler, that he was determined, if a 
breach occurred, never to consent to an accommoda- 
tion. When, therefore, Washington reproved him, 
one day in the spring of 1781, with what he con- 
sidered unnecessary severity for a slight delay in 
answering his summons, he promptly resigned from 
his staff, and no persuasion could induce him to re- 
consider his determination. Greene acted very dif- 
ferently ; he had the most profound regard and 
affection for Washington, and, instead of resigning, 
he replied with great dignity and calmness, disclaim- 
ing any intentional fault and expressing very clearly 
his sense of the injustice done him. The letter was 
all the more remarkable because Greene was himself 
a man of quick temper, very prompt at various 
periods of his career to resent the slightest reflection 
cast upon him by Congress or any of its members, 
or by any one in the army except Washington. The 
nature of Washington's reproof, whether verbal or 
written, has not been preserved, but it doubtless re- 
ferred to something connected with his duties as 
quartermaster general. Greene replied at length 
from White Plains, July 21st: "Your Excellency has 
made me very unhappy. I can submit very patiently 
to deserved censure; but it wounds my feelings ex- 
ceedingly to meet with a rebuke for doing what I 
conceived to be a proper part of my duty, and in 
the order of things. ... If I had neglected my 
duty in pursuit of pleasure, or if I had been wanting 
in respect to your Excellency, I would have put 
my hand upon my mouth and been silent upon the 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 105 

occasion ; but as I am not conscious of being charge- 
able with either one or the other, I can not help 
thinking that I have been treated with a degree of 
severity that I am in no respect deserving. . . . 
Your Excellency well knows how 1 came into this 
department. It was by your special request, and 
you must be sensible that there is no other man 
would have brought me into the business but you. 
The distress the department was in, the disgrace 
that must accompany your operations without a 
change, and the difficulty of engaging a person 
capable of conducting the business, together with 
the hopes of meeting your approbation and having 
your full aid and assistance, reconciled me to the 
undertaking. . . . As I came into the quartermaster's 
department with reluctance, so I shall leave it with 
pleasure. Your influence brought me in, and the 
want of your approbation will induce me to go out." 

There is no record of what Washington replied. 
Doubtless, either by word or letter, he removed the 
sense of injustice and reassured his loyal subordi- 
nate. Their relations continued on the same inti- 
mate and friendly footing as before. 

While Washington had been marching from Mon- 
mouth to White Plains the French fleet had arrived. 
The treaty of alliance with France had been signed 
in Paris on February 6th, and on April 13th a fleet 
of twelve ships of the line and four frigates, con- 
taining four thousand troops, all under the com- 
mand of Count d'Estaing, had sailed from Toulon. 
It arrived at the mouth of the Delaware on July 8th, 
and after landing the French minister it proceeded 
to Sandy Hook. Here Washington sent letters on 
board by his aids-de-camp Laurens and Hamilton. 



I06 GENERAL GREENE. 

It was at first proposed to sail into the harbor and 
give battle to Howe's fleet, while Washington made 
a land attack on New York. But the pilots declared 
that the ships could not be taken across the bar, and 
this project was abandoned. The fleet therefore 
sailed for Newport on July 22d. 

In anticipation of this movement, Washington had 
already written on July 17th to Sullivan, who com- 
manded in Rhode Island, to call upon the States of 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut for 
five thousand militia. These States responded so 
fully and promptly that inside of three weeks about 
seven thousand militia were assembled in Rhode 
Island. As soon as Washington learned, by a note 
from Hamilton, that the fleet would go to Newport, 
he detached Glover's and Varnum's brigades, with 
two batteries under Jackson, and, placing them under 
command of Lafayette, directed him to march at 
once for Providence and place himself under Sulli- 
van's orders. 

Both public and private reasons strongly urged 
Greene at this time to go to Rhode Island. When 
the British first occupied Newport after the fall of 
Fort Washington in 1776 the eastern delegates asked 
Washington to send Greene to take command in 
Rhode Island ; but Washington was then in a critical 
position on the Delaware and declined to part with 
him. Spencer was sent in his stead. Spencer re- 
signed in the spring of 1778, and again it was pro- 
posed to send Greene to take this command; but 
Washington was then urging him to take the position 
of quartermaster general, and the other idea was aban- 
doned. Now it was evident that the scene of active 
operations would be around Newport and not New 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 107 

York; there would be fighting in his own State, and 
there would be much work for the quartermaster's 
department. Greene was anxious to go in person to 
take part in both. Moreover, in going he would 
necessarily pass his own home, where he had not 
been for over three years, except for one night on 
the march from Boston to Long Island. His wife 
was there with his two children, one of whom he had 
never seen, and a third child was soon expected. 
He therefore asked Washington to send him, and 
his request was promptly granted, as it was evident 
he would be very valuable in this movement on ac- 
count of his local knowledge' of men and ground. 
Lafayette had already started, but Washington wrote 
to him explaining the situation, and stating that the 
troops under Sullivan would be divided into two 
divisions — one to be commanded by Greene and the 
other by himself. The generous young Frenchman 
accepted the arrangement with perfect cordiality and 
good grace. Greene left White Plains on the morn- 
ing of July 28th, and arrived at his home at Coventry 
on the evening of the 30th. He stopped to rest one 
day, then went on to Providence and immediately 
gave his whole time to organizing the expedition 
under Sullivan. 

Newport, as has already been stated, was the 
fourth town in the colonies in size and impor- 
tance. After the close of the campaign around 
New York and the retreat of Washington through 
the Jerseys in December, 1776, a fleet of seventy-six 
ships was sent from New York, with over eight thou- 
sand men under command of Clinton and Percy. 
They landed a few miles north of Newport and 
took possession of the place, which was guarded by 



I08 GENERAL GREENE. 

only a few hundred militia. In the following spring 
Clinton and about half the force were recalled to 
New York to take part in the expedition to the 
Delaware, and Percy went home on leave. The 
command devolved on General Prescott, an unenter- 
prising and brutal commander who undertook no 
military movements but did all the damage in his 
power to unarmed inhabitants. He was captured in 
his bed in the summer of 1777, and the following 
spring was exchanged for Charles Lee. A short 
time after his release he was superseded by Sir 
Robert Pigott. This officer was now in command 
with about six thousand men, half of whom had only 
arrived on July 15th, having been sent by Clinton 
from New York on his arrival there after the battle 
of Monmouth. The troops occupied two lines of 
works stretching across the island just north of 
Newport ; a detachment of Hessians was stationed 
opposite to them on Conanicut Island. D'Estaing 
arrived at the mouth of Narragansett Bay on July 
29th, and Sullivan held a conference with him on 
board his ship the next day. Could a prompt at- 
tack have been made by the combined American 
and French troops, supported by a vigorous bom- 
bardment by the French fleet, it is quite possible 
that Pigott's force might have been captured. But 
it was only ten days since Sullivan had received 
Washington's instructions to call out the militia, and 
only a portion of them had arrived. Lafayette's 
troops, having two hundred miles to march from 
White Plains, did not reach Providence until August 
3d, although Lafayette in person arrived on July 
29th and visited the fleet the following day. Sulli- 
van therefore fixed August loth as the earliest day 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 109 

when he could be ready ; and in the mean time sug- 
gested that D'Estaing should attack the British ships. 
D'Estaing moved up the east and west passages for 
this purpose on August 5th, and all the British ships, 
seven in number, were immediately set on fire or 
sunk. Their crews were sent to man the land bat- 
teries at Brenton's Point, Goat Island, and North 
Battery (opposite Rose Island) ; the Hessians had 
already been withdrawn from Conanicut on the first 
appearance of the fleet, and a detachment at Butt's 
Hill, on the northern part of Rhode Island, opposite 
Bristol Ferry, was brought back to Newport on the 
evening of August 8th. 

It had been agreed between D'Estaing and Sulli- 
van that on August loth the American troops were to 
cross over by Howland's Ferry, from Tiverton on 
the mainland, to the northern part of Rhode Island 
near Butt's Hill ; the French troops were to land on 
the west side, opposite Dyer's Island. In this way 
it was hoped to capture the British detachment on 
Butt's Hill, and then the united forces, numbering 
about fourteen thousand men, were to move south 
and attack the lines at Newport. In accordance 
with this plan, Sullivan united all his force at Tiver- 
ton on the 7th, and on the 8th D'Estaing sailed up 
the main channel, exchanging fire with the batteries 
near Newport, and anchored off the northern end of 
Conanicut, intending on the following day to land 
his troops, which had been on shipboard for nearly 
four months, and to cross to Rhode Island the day 
after, as agreed upon. 

But Sullivan noticed on the morning of the 9th 
that the British position on Butt's Hill had been 
evacuated. Fearing that it might be reoccupied, he 



no GENERAL GREENE. 

crossed from Tiverton at once, instead of waiting 
till the loth, as agreed upon. This somewhat dis- 
concerted the French admiral ; but he visited Sullivan 
in his camp, and, on hearing his explanation, approved 
his action. As he was returning to his ship on the 
afternoon of the 9th the fog lifted, and, to his utter 
astonishment, disclosed a British fleet sailing toward 
the harbor of Newport, ten miles to the south of 
him. 

In fact, Pigott had not been idle, but had sent 
word to Clinton at New York the day (July 29th) 
that the French fleet arrived off Newport. By a 
curious chance, a portion of Byron's fleet, which had 
sailed from Plymouth on June 5th in pursuit of 
D'Estaing, arrived at New York a few days after 
D'Estaing had left. Joining these to his own squad- 
ron, Lord Howe sailed for Newport and arrived there 
on the morning of August 9th. Washington wrote 
D'Estaing on the 8th, informing him of this, but the 
letter had not arrived when D'Estaing saw the fleet. 
While the latter was ready to conform his movements 
to those of the Americans as far as possible, yet the 
idea of merely assisting in a land attack while there 
was a chance of fighting a British fleet was not to 
be thought of.* On the morning of the loth there 

* Captain Mahan, in his Influence of Sea Power on History, 
says : " With the prevailing summer southwest breezes blowing 
straight into the bay, he [D'Estaing] was exposed to any attempts 
his adversary might make " ; and he gives no other reason for 
D'Estaing's sailing out the next morning, when the wind unex- 
pectedly blew from the north. While there is no question of the 
soundness of Captain Mahan's reasoning, yet it does not appear 
that D'Estaing was moved by such considerations ; for in a long 
letter to Congress, dated August 26th, he gives his reasons for 
sailing out of Narragansett Bay, and he makes no mention of the 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL, m 

was a strong breeze from the north, and D'Estaing, 
after sending word to Sullivan of his intended de- 
parture, set all sail and bore down toward the 
British. As he had the windward there was nothing 
for Howe to do but to weigh anchor and sail out to 
sea until a change in the wind should give him a 
chance to fight on more even terms. The two fleets 
manoeuvred to get to windward of each other for 
two days, and then they met a hurricane the memory 
of which survived for two generations. Both fleets 
were scattered and seriously disabled. Howe re- 
turned to New York, and D'Estaing only reached 
Newport, in a badly crippled condition, on the 20th. 

Sullivan was thus left in the lurch. D'Estaing 
had promised to put the French troops under La- 
fayette's command, but, instead of leaving them to 
aid Sullivan when he went out to fight the British 
fleet, he took them with him in his ships — where they 
could only be in the way and do no good to any one. 
Nevertheless, Sullivan started to carry out alone the 
original plan as far as he could. On the nth he 
pushed out light parties to the vicinity of the 
British lines and followed with his main body — 
Greene commanding the right wing, Lafayette the 
left, and John Hancock, formerly President of Con- 
prevailing breezes — which possibly were not known to him, as he 
had only been there twelve days. He justifies his action on the 
ground that the British would have landed on Conanicut Island 
and erected batteries there, which, in connection with the batteries 
which they already possessed on Rhode Island, would have de- 
stroyed his fleet. In other words, he feared the influence of the 
land power on his ships. 

All contemporary writers speak of his sacrificing co-operation 
in the land attack on Newport to the desire of fighting the British 
fleet. 



112 GENERAL GREENE. 

gress and now major general in command of the 
Massachusetts militia, the second line. But the same 
hurricane which dispersed the fleets passed over 
Rhode Island on the night of the 12th, blew away 
the tents, killed several of the animals, injured some 
of the men, soaked their clothing, and ruined a large 
part of their ammunition. It left the army in a sad 
plight, and it took two or three days to put it in 
order again. 

As soon as D'Estaing's fleet reappeared, Greene 
and Lafayette were sent to consult with him and 
arrange plans for the further conduct of the expedi- 
tion. To their surprise, D'Estaing announced his 
intention of sailing for Boston to repair damages. 
They urged him to land his troops, make a vigorous 
assault on the Newport lines, and then refit his fleet 
in Newport, where the facilities were almost, if not 
quite, as good as in Boston. They urged that, with 
their large superiority of force and the discourage- 
ment of the garrison on having received no further 
aid from New York, success was certain. They 
spent the night with him trying to convince him of 
the soundness of these views, but without success. 
They then returned to Sullivan, and a solemn pro- 
test was drawn up and signed by every general 
in camp except Lafayette. But all to no purpose. 
D'Estaing sailed away on the 22d, taking with him 
his four thousand soldiers — which certainly were 
not needed to repair his ships in Boston. 

This departure wrecked the expedition and set 
everybody by the ears. Sullivan wrote to Washing- 
ton, telling him of his troubles and truly saying : 
"To combat all these misfortunes and to surmount 
all these difficulties requires a degree of temper and 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 113 

persevering fortitude which I can never boast of, 
and which few possess in so ample a manner as your 
Excellency." On the day after D'Estaing sailed 
away Sullivan issued a general order in which he 
first laments the departure of the French fleet and 
then contradicts himself by the remark that " he 
can by no means suppose the army or any part 
of it endangered by the movement." He goes on 
to say that " he yet hopes the event will prove 
America able to procure with her own arms that 
which her allies refused to assist her in obtaining." 
This insult was more than Lafayette could stand, 
and he called upon Sullivan to make a public retrac- 
tion, which Sullivan attempted to do in an order of 
the 26th, but his language was so awkward that it 
left the matter almost in worse shape than before. 
Hancock started at once for Boston, where there 
was talk of not allowing the fleet to enter; the 
militia, which had been called out for only three 
weeks, were so angry at the departure of the fleet 
that they concluded they would go home, and over 
five thousand of them left in five days. The only 
man who seems to have kept his head was Greene. 
Washington wrote to him : " I depend much upon 
your temper and influence to conciliate that animosity 
which I plainly perceive, by a letter from the marquis, 
subsists between the American officers and the French 
in our service." This reliance was not misplaced. 
Greene had felt it his duty to sign the formal protest 
of the 22d, but after that his whole efforts were 
given to keeping the peace. He saw clearly that 
giving vent to feelings of disappointment and re- 
sentment would have a fatal effect upon the French 
alliance, now being put to its first test. He there- 



114 



GENERAL GREENE. 



fore did everything in his power to suppress any ex- 
pression of feeling against the French. He also 
used every effort to conciliate the French officers, 
and Lafayette in a letter to Washington took oc- 
casion to express his appreciation of Greene's efforts 
as a peacemaker. 

D'Estaing reached Boston on the 27th, and La- 
fayette, who had been urged by Sullivan and Greene 
to go there and if possible persuade the admiral to 
send his troops to Newport, arrived on the following 
day. In company with Heath and Hancock they 
called on the council, and a better feeling was es- 
tablished. D'Estaing promised to send his troops 
to Sullivan, and Lafayette rode back with all speed 
to carry the news, but on his arrival he found the 
army just retreating from Rhode Island. 

Its position, in fact, had become very precarious. 
By the desertion of the militia its strength was re- 
duced to between four thousand and five thousand 
men. With these it was attempting to besiege a 
force of greater strength than its own within the 
lines just north of Newport. Sullivan, in his anger, 
was ready to order an assault, but wiser counsels 
prevailed. During the night of the 28th the army 
retreated in good order to the position originally 
fortified by the British on Butt's Hill, at the north- 
ern end of the island. Pigott followed at daybreak 
in two columns, the Hessians taking the west road 
and the British the east road. They came up with 
the American pickets at seven o'clock, and a council 
was held at which Greene advised making a sharp 
attack and defeating the columns in detail before 
they united. But he was overruled, and it was de- 
cided to remain strictly on the defensive. The two 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 115 

columns were thus allowed to unite. A determined 
engagement began about nine o'clock and lasted for 
seven hours. Greene commanded the right, and had 
with him the regiments in Varnum's brigade which 
had originally marched with him to Boston, Glover's 
brigade of Marblehead fishermen, a brigade of 
militia under Cornell, and a regiment of negroes re- 
cently organized in Rhode Island, of which his kins- 
man Christopher Greene, the hero of Red Bank, was 
colonel, and his old friend Samuel Ward was major. 
The Americans were gradually pushed back into the 
works on Butt's Hill, but the British, although they 
brought two ships to use their guns against Greene's 
right flank, were unable to make any further prog- 
ress. After several hours of severe fighting they 
retired during the afternoon to their own lines on 
Quaker Hill. On the following day the British did 
not renew the attack, and during the night of the 
30th the army was withdrawn over Howland's Ferry 
to Tiverton on the mainland ; the boats being rowed 
by a militia regiment of boatmen from Providence, 
and by that same brigade of Glover's which had 
ferried the army across the East River after the 
battle of Long Island, and again across the Dela- 
ware at Trenton. The retreat was made just in 
time, for Lord Howe had sailed out of New York on 
the 27th with a large fleet, bearing Clinton and five 
thousand re-enforcements. Washington had notified 
Sullivan of this in a letter dated the 28th, which Sul- 
livan received on the morning of the 30th. As the 
army climbed up the heights of Tiverton on the 
morning of the 31st the topsails of this fleet could 
be seen in the distance sailing into Newport harbor. 
The American loss in the battle of August 29th. 



Il6 GENERAL GREENE. 

was thirty killed, one hundred and thirty-two 
wounded, and forty-four missing. That of the 
British is stated by S. G. Arnold in his history of 
Rhode Island to have been ten hundred and twenty- 
three, including prisoners. The Americans brought 
off all their wounded and saved all their artillery and 
stores. The balance of the militia now went home, 
and Sullivan's force, which had been ten thousand 
one hundred and twenty-four on the 4th of August, 
was reduced to about twelve hundred Continentals. 
He left a detachment under Lafayette at Bristol, 
which was soon withdrawn to Warren, and with the 
balance he retired to Providence. Greene went to 
Boston on business relating to the quartermaster's 
department. The British retained possession of 
Rhode Island until October, 1779, when Clinton 
voluntarily evacuated it, taking all the troops to 
New York for use in the South. 

The Rhode Island expedition was thus a com- 
plete failure. Nothing was ever undertaken with 
fairer chances of complete success, and if it had suc- 
ceeded it would have been of the greatest possible 
importance. Washington, in writing of it to his 
brother a few weeks later, said: "If the garrison of 
that place, consisting of nearly six thousand men, 
had been captured, as there was, in appearance at 
least, a hundred to one in favor of it, it would have 
given the finishing blow to British pretensions of 
sovereignty over this country ; and would, I am 
persuaded, have hastened the departure of the 
troops in New York as fast as their canvas wings 
could carry them away." D'Estaing's orders en- 
joined him to be careful of his ships, and, in case of 
disaster, to go to Boston for repairs ; but nothing 



APPOINTED QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 117 

can justify his failure to put his land forces on shore 
at the earliest moment after his arrival. Had he 
done so, success would appear to have been certain. 
If Washington could have gone to Rhode Island, in 
all probability D'Estaing would have followed his 
advice, for Washington possessed an ascendency 
over the French as well as over his own countrymen 
which was not shared or even approached by any 
one else in the army. Washington, however, was 
not justified in leaving his central position at New 
York in face of the principal force of the enemy for 
any separate detachment, no matter how important. 
In view of Greene's subsequent success in an inde- 
pendent command in the South, and of the tact 
which he exercised in his intercourse with the 
French, it is probable that if he, in place of Sullivan, 
had been in command, the result would have been 
different. At the time, however, that Sullivan was 
sent to Rhode Island (March, 1778) the French fleet 
had not sailed from France, and the movement 
against Newport was not thought of. When it was 
undertaken, Sullivan was already in command, and 
there were no reasons sufficient to justify his re- 
moval. Nevertheless, his bad temper and lack of 
tact in dealing with the French were largely respon- 
sible for the failure. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

QUARTERMASTER GENERAL — SPRINGFIELD — 
1778-1780. 

The two years following the expedition against 
Newport were years of inaction in the North. Dur- 
ing the preceding year the Americans had been 
everywhere on the offensive, and while they had not 
gained the full measure of success which they had 
reason to expect, yet this was due to causes on their 
own side which could not have been anticipated, and 
not to any skill, energy, or courage on the part of 
the British. At Germantown the fog saved Howe, 
at Monmouth Charles Lee's treason saved Clinton, 
and at Newport dissensions between the allies saved 
Pigott. At the end of it all, the British found them- 
selves just where they were in 1776 — i. e., in posses- 
sion of New York and Newport. All the other terri- 
tory which they had gained had been lost again, and 
the prospect of bringing the Americans back to 
allegiance to the King and subjection to Parliament 
was as remote as ever. But the year of offensive 
operations had been very exhausting to the Ameri- 
cans. Congress was falling into contempt, its most 
distinguished members having returned to positions 
in the State governments, or gone abroad as diplo- 
matic representatives. The finances were in a de- 
plorable condition. Congress had no power (or, if it 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD, ng 

had, failed to exercise it) to levy taxation, and it 
attempted to meet the expenses of the war by issuing 
Continental bills. These had now reached the aggre- 
gate of over $120,000,000, and were more than doubled 
during the next year, with no definite prospect of 
redemption. The value of these bills decreased as 
their numbers increased. At this time they were 
worth about twenty cents on the dollar, and this 
value continued to grow less until they ceased to cir- 
culate at all, and the measure of complete worth- 
lessness of anything was expressed in the phrase 
" Not worth a Continental." Congress still persisted 
in its opposition to a permanent army, and, while the 
act of 1776, calling for battalions to be enlisted for 
three years or the war, still remained on the statute 
books, yet it was not enforced ; the States were 
afraid to undertake drafting with any determination, 
and laws were passed authorizing enlistments for 
one year or shorter periods accompanied by extrava- 
gant bounties, which of course nullified any efforts 
to get long-service men under the law of 1776. 

Under these circumstances Washington was forced 
to remain on the defensive. He posted his army in 
the vicinity of New York, ready to move toward 
Philadelphia if Clinton repeated Howe's plan of 1777, 
or toward New England in case the force at New- 
port should take the offensive in the direction of 
Boston or elsewhere ; and at all times covering the 
line of the Hudson and the posts in the Highlands, 
on the security of which depended his line of com- 
munications between the Eastern and Middle States, 
as well as the supply of food for his army, most of 
which came from west of the Hudson River. 

On the other hand, the British, having campaigned 



I20 GENERAL GREENE. 

for two years in and around New York and from 
Philadelphia to Newport, and being at the end sub- 
stantially where they were at the beginning, con- 
cluded to change the war to a new theatre. They 
therefore sent about thirty-five hundred men to 
Savannah, and thus began the Southern campaign, 
which was finally terminated at Yorktown and Eutaw 
Springs three years later. During all this period the 
British remained in New York without attempting any 
offensive operations beyond mere raids and forays. 

As for the French, D'Estaing sailed away for the 
West Indies during the autumn of 1778 with his fleet 
and his soldiers. Lafayette went home during the 
winter to see if he could secure more tangible assist- 
ance in the way of money, supplies, and a force which 
would serve under Washington's orders. In this he was 
successful to an extent scarcely hoped for, but it was 
eighteen months before he was able to return with 
these substantial aids. 

Everything being thus brought to a standstill, 
Washington was able in the followmg spring to de- 
tach five thousand men, under Sullivan, to inflict a 
well-deserved punishment upon the Indians and their 
Tory allies in central New York and northern Penn- 
sylvania ; and in the summer Wayne showed, in the 
brilliant capture of Stony Point with the bayonet 
alone, what his own daring and Steuben's discipline 
could accomplish. With these exceptions, the story 
of the two years — from September, 1778, to Septem- 
ber, 1 780 — at the North is a story of military inaction. 

The only busy man in the army (always except- 
ing Washington, upon whose shoulders the whole 
burden of the contest now rested) was Greene. He 
was all the time engaged in the vexatious and im- 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 121 

possible task of trying to keep the army supplied and 
equipped without cash. We left him at Tiverton 
just after the battle of Butt's Hill in Rhode Island. 
His home at Coventry was fifteen miles distant across 
Narragansett Bay. The sound of the battle was 
distinctly heard at his house, and its smoke could be 
seen. Two days later Greene rejoined his wife there, 
and on September 23d his third child was born. It 
was a daughter, and she was named Cornelia Lott, 
after the wife of a gentleman residing near Morris- 
town, who had shown the warmest hospitality to 
Greene and his wife during the spring of 1777. 

The business of the quartermaster's department 
kept him in New England for the next month, about 
half the time being passed in Boston and the other 
half at his home, whence he could ride into Provi- 
dence every morning for consultation with Sullivan. 
Almost immediately after his arrival at home, John 
Brown— a leading merchant in Providence, and a 
member of the distinguished family to whose bequests 
Brown University owes its continued existence, who 
was then rapidly amassing a large fortune, and who 
had been a visitor to Sullivan's army — gave vent to 
very severe criticisms on the Rhode Island expedi- 
tion, claiming that it had been badly planned and 
worse executed, and that Sullivan was incompetent. 
Sullivan and Greene had been division commanders 
together, and engaged in every campaign and battle 
from Boston in 1775 ^o Newport in 1778. Greene 
had the warmest affection for Sullivan, and an opin- 
ion of his abilities which was possibly higher than 
was justified. At all events, the idea of Sullivan, his 
brother officer, being abused by a merchant whose 
trade was being injured in consequence of the failure 
9 



123 GENERAL GREENE. 

of the expedition, and this, too, at Greene's own home, 
seemed like an abuse of hospitality in addition to 
being grossly unjust. Greene thereupon took up 
the cudgels vigorously in Sullivan's defense, and 
wrote Brown a long letter — almost a pamphlet, in 
fact — reviewing the whole expedition, defending Sul- 
livan and resenting the criticisms. Brown had at- 
tempted to censure Sullivan by quoting Greene's 
opinion and advice, but Greene repudiated any such 
argument. He insisted that " the expedition had 
been prudently and well conducted," and that there 
was " not a general officer, from the commander in 
chief to the youngest in the field, that would have 
gone to greater lengths to have given success to the 
expedition than General Sullivan." Finally he tells 
Mr. Brown, " I can not help feeling mortified that 
those that have been at home, making their fortune, 
and living in the lap of luxury and enjoying all the 
pleasures of domestic life, should be the first to sport 
with the feelings of officers who have stood as a 
barrier between them and ruin." 

During his stay in New England Greene did 
everything in his power to restore the good feeling 
between the allies. At a meeting of the Assembly 
at Providence, at which he happened to be present, 
he contrived to prevent the reading of letters from 
Sullivan in which the latter gave full expression to 
his feelings toward D'Estaing, the publication of 
which could have done no good and might have done 
much harm. And a few days later, at Boston, he 
wrote the admiral a letter which D'Estaing describes 
as "of a nature to console me for the little irregu- 
larities which you perceived in General Sullivan's 
letter." D'Estaing adds : " It is from you and what 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 123 

you are, that it is doubtless suitable and flattering to 
judge of the respectable and amiable qualities of the 
American general ofificers." 

On the 6th of October Greene returned to gen- 
eral headquarters, then at Fishkill on the Hudson. 
Sullivan had asked to have him stationed in Rhode 
Island for the winter, but Greene wrote to Washing- 
ton that, however pleasant it might be to be near 
his family and among his friends, it would be " very 
unfriendly to the business of his department," and 
Washington therefore directed him to return. The 
headquarters were transferred for a time from Fish- 
kill to Fredericksburg, on the Connecticut border, 
east of West Point; then to Middlebrook on the 
Raritan River, ten miles west of New Brunswick. 
Here they remained till the following summer, the 
men going into huts as at Valley Forge, but profiting 
by the experience of the previous winter to make 
them more comfortable. There was also a greater 
number of farmhouses available for the ofificers, and 
Greene as well as the other generals had each a 
house to himself. The ladies again came to camp ; 
Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Greene, Mrs. Knox, Lady 
Stirling and her daughter Lady Kitty, and others. 
There were the same amusements as at Valley Forge 
with which to pass the long winter evenings, but 
here there were rooms large enough to dance in, and 
of one of these occasions, in March, Greene writes: 
"We had a little dance at my quarters a few even- 
ings past. His Excellency and Mrs. Greene danced 
upward of three hours without once sitting down. 
Upon the whole, we had a pretty little frisk." 

But the " little frisks " were mere oases in the 
desert of his troubles in the quartermaster's depart- 



124 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ment, which increased steadily during the next 
eighteen months, until Greene finally threw up the 
office in disgust. The chief difficulty was the lack of 
hard money to pay for the necessary stores. Con- 
gress had little or no hard money, and, when its paper 
promises were worth so little that it took four hun- 
dred dollars of them to buy a hat and sixteen hun- 
dred dollars to buy a suit of clothes, there were not 
enough printing presses in the country to supply 
what was needed to clothe the army and feed the 
animals. Impressment was occasionally resorted to, 
receipts being given for the property taken, but 
there was great objection to this method, and it was 
ineffectual. People concealed their property, and, 
in the general apathy in regard to the war which 
had now supervened, all the farmers and merchants 
assisted each other to evade the quartermaster's 
agents and defeat their intentions. The system of 
short enlistments was, moreover, most wasteful. The 
troops took but little care of public property, and at 
the close of their enlistments carried away large 
amounts of it ; so that it required from two to three 
times the quantity of stores that would have sufficed 
for a permanent force — and still the men were never 
well supplied. Finally Congress and the Board of 
War attempted to interfere in the details of the 
management of the department in such a way as to 
destroy all system and discipline. This was not 
done from any malicious purpose, but simply from 
that lack of experience in executive management 
and organization which characterized the govern- 
ment of all the colonies at this time, and which con- 
tinued until they were on the verge of anarchy, when 
the Federal Constitution was adopted in 1789. In 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 125 

dealing with this interference it must be said that 
Greene was not without fault. He had the most un- 
limited respect and admiration for Washington, and 
warm affection for his comrades in the army. But 
he did not entertain such feeling for the members of 
Congress, except for a few like Reed, of Penn- 
sylvania, G. Morris, of New York, and Marchant, of 
Rhode Island. For the majority of the delegates he 
felt an indifference bordering on contempt, which 
was neither justified nor judicious ; and this feeling 
was intensified when he saw the extravagant style 
of living in Philadelphia, the pursuit of pleasure to 
the postponement of business, and compared this 
with the sufferings of the officers and men in the 
huts at Valley Forge and Middlebrook. His temper 
was quick, and his affections strong. To a friend he 
was a stanch friend, and to an enemy a vigorous 
hater. Washington had these same good qualities, 
but to them he joined a discerning judgment, a 
patience, and a tact in dealing with men, which it is 
not too much to say has not been possessed by any 
other public man in our history, with the possible 
exception of Lincoln. Greene possessed these char- 
acteristics in a far smaller degree, and such measure 
of them as he did possess was often overbalanced by 
his feelings of indignation and resentment. Hence 
his tone in correspondence and intercourse with the 
committees of Congress was frequently harsh and 
unfriendly, and it resulted in bad feeling rather than 
good. Doubtless the provocation was great, but 
Washington had equal provocation, and it was his 
manner of meeting it which established his incom- 
parable fame. 

The bad feeling thus engendered was eagerly 



126 GENERAL GREENE. 

seized by Greene's enemies and those of Washington 
to create all the trouble and embarrassment possible. 
The Conway cabal had failed, but some of its mem- 
bers were still in position to do mischief. Lee and 
Conway had, it is true, been dismissed, but Gates 
was in command at Boston, whence, as Washington 
was compelled to say to the President of Congress 
in April, 1779, he was practicing " little under- 
hand intrigues " and " continually giving me fresh 
proofs of malevolence and opposition " ; and Mifflin 
was in Philadelphia before a committee of inquiry 
into his administration of the quartermaster's de- 
partment, and ready to join any intrigue which would 
injure his successor who had so enormously improved 
its efficiency. They and their adherents in Congress 
lost no opportunity of criticising such defects as 
still existed in the department and laying the blame 
on its chief, instead of on Congress which expected 
the war to be prosecuted without providing its 
sinews. They also accused the subordinates of pecu- 
lation — a charge which, unfortunately, in some in- 
stances was probably true ; and they hinted that 
Greene himself was making a fortune, and that he 
was filling the lucrative posts with his relatives and 
special friends. No direct charge was ever made 
against Greene's integrity, and his enemies well 
knew that there was not the slightest ground for any 
such accusation. But this did not prevent them 
from spreading innuendoes. As for his relatives, the 
matter was quickly disposed of. The only ones he 
had appointed to places in his department were his 
elder brother, Jacob Greene, who had been selected as 
chairman of the Committee of Safety of the Rhode 
Island Assembly in 1775, and was perhaps better 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 127 

qualified than any other man in that State to trans- 
act the quartermaster's business; and his cousin, 
Griffin Greene, who was connected with the Coventry- 
forges and was a well-trained man of business. 
Both were men of the highest integrity, and well 
known as such to the public as well as to Greene, 
and their appointment to two out of the hundred 
places at his disposal was to be commended rather 
than criticised. In meeting the gossip that he was 
making a fortune, Greene was less fortunate, being 
embarrassed by the fact that he was being paid a 
commission. As already stated, he had first con- 
sented to direct the operations of the department 
without being connected with the accounts, and with- 
out other compensation than the pay of his grade in 
the army. The committee of Congress declined to 
accept this, and thereupon he agreed to serve on the 
same terms as his principal subordinates could be 
secured for. The committee fixed this at one per 
cent on the money disbursed by the department, and 
Greene divided this equally with Colonels Pettit and 
Cox. In these days this seems a bad arrangement, 
and such it undoubtedly was. But it was not so re- 
garded at that time; it was the custom of the day, 
the arrangement was proposed by the committee and 
not by Greene, and it was considered by them, when 
made, a very economical method of compensation. 
Now it was used to cast discredit upon Greene ; and 
in a letter written in April, 1779, to Mr. Duane, a 
delegate in Congress and President of the Treasury 
Board, he admits that " the emoluments expected 
from the office were flattering to his fortune, but 
not less humiliating to his military pride." The 
idea of its being flattering to his fortune, however, 



128 GENERAL GREENE. 

proved delusive, and a year later he wrote to a friend 
in Rhode Island that if certain private funds in his 
hands were not profitably invested he was poor in- 
deed. " To be thought rich and at the same time to 
be poor, is the most disagreeable situation in the 
world." His one third of one per cent on the 
amount disbursed during the two years and six 
months that he held the office was probably about 
one hundred thousand dollars in Continental money. 
At the time he left the office this was worth one and 
two thirds cents on the dollar in the open market, 
and Congress was trying to redeem it at the rate of 
two and a half cents on the dollar, or forty for one. 
It is evident, therefore, that his compensation in 
actual value was small, and probably did not equal 
his expenses. It is certain that at the close of the 
war he was poorer than at the beginning. This was 
the case with all the general officers, but least of all 
with Washington. He had stipulated that he should 
receive no pay for his services, but have his ex- 
penses reimbursed; and on July i, 1783, he sub- 
mitted his accounts, kept with the most scrupulous 
care, of his expenditures during the preceding eight 
years, including depreciation, interest, and expenses 
of Mrs. Washington in coming to and returning from 
camp. The amount was $64,355.30 in specie, which 
would have been equivalent to more than one million 
dollars in Continental money at the average deprecia- 
tion during the year 1779. Being reimbursed this 
amount, his only loss was for such expenditures as 
he had forgotten or neglected to enter in his accounts. 
This arrangement, while not so intended, proved 
more advantageous to Washington than any salary 
would have been. It is doubtful if any other general 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 129 

received enough in pay and allowances to meet his 
actual expenses. Certainly Greene did not. In 
April, 1783, he wrote to Mr. John Collins, a delegate 
from Rhode Island in Congress, as follows : " Con- 
gress recommended to the several States to settle 
with their own officers. Will Rhode Island acknowl- 
edge me as one of hers ? If she will, I should be 
glad to have a settlement, and if the State is not as 
poor as I am, I should be glad to get some advance. 
I have drawn no pay since '77, and you may well 
suppose my friends are tired of lending me money. 
The Southern States have voted me an interest, but 
it will be a long time before I can make it profitable 
either by sale or improvement." 

The idea that Greene was making a fortune out of 
his commissions was therefore entirely false. Never- 
theless, these rumors were industriously circulated by 
a clique in Congress, and they angered Greene very 
much. He felt that he was remaining in a very dis- 
tasteful office solely from a sense of public duty and 
because Washington had asked it. Under these cir- 
cumstances, to be accused of holding on to the office 
from mercenary motives seemed to him an evidence 
of the basest ingratitude. He could not keep his 
temper in dealing with men who so completely mis- 
judged him. 

His difficulties with Congress did not reach the 
acute period until the winter of i779-'8o. In the 
preceding April he had been in Philadelphia trying 
to get money to purchase stores and pay teamsters, 
so that Washington could make plans for a summer 
campaign. Congress seemed to him so indifferent 
and inattentive to his requests that he asked leave 
to resign ; and he wrote at some length to Washing- 



I30 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ton, explaining that it was impossible to carry on 
the business without financial resources; that there 
was a petty intrigue on foot to injure his reputation; 
that the office was in every way disagreeable to him, 
and that he desired to give it up and return to his 
place in the line. He stated that, as General Lincoln 
had just asked to be relieved from the Southern com- 
mand on account of his wound, he would be glad to 
be ordered in his place. Washington replied, ex- 
pressing sympathy for his troubles, but declining to 
give any advice ; he added, that if Greene should 
resign from the quartermaster generalship and the 
appointment of a successor to Lincoln should be left 
to him, he should not hesitate in choosing Greene 
for the place. Congress, however, was not disposed 
to accept his resignation, and on the 7th of June, 
1779, passed a resolution expressing "full confidence 
in the integrity and abilities of the quartermaster 
general." He therefore continued the business 
throughout the year, and did the best he could with 
the totally inadequate means at his disposal. When 
the year was over and the army went into winter 
quarters at Morristown, he determined to bring 
matters to a head, if possible. On December 12th 
he wrote a long letter to Congress: " It has been my 
wish for a long time to relinquish the office of 
quartermaster general. This is the close of the 
second campaign since I engaged in the duties of 
this office, and I feel a degree of happiness in having 
it in my power to say with confidence that every 
military operation, whether in the main army or in 
any detachment, has been promoted and supported, 
as far as it depends upon this department. The 
commander in chief has given me the most ample 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL-SPRINGFIELD. 131 

testimony of his approbation,* and the success in 
every other quarter sufficiently evinces the ample 
provision that has been made." But he goes on to 
say that he entered the department against his 
wishes; the office is " injurious to my health, harass- 
ing to my mind, and opposed to my military pur- 
suits " ; and *' as interest was not the object which 
induced me first to accept the appointment, it would 
be my wish to resign, even if the emoluments could 
be made five times as large as they are, provided I 
could retire with the approbation of Congress and 
without injuring the public service." He then ex- 
plains in detail the condition and needs of his de- 
partment, and continues : " In this distressing situa- 
tion, without money and without credit, necessity 
obliges me to give Congress information, and to ask 
their advice what are we to do. Here is an expen- 
sive army to support, and the difficulty hourly in- 
creasing ; besides, the preparations necessary for an- 
other campaign is fast approaching, while we are 
without the means either to defray the current ex- 
penses or discharge our past contracts, which are 
now very great, owing to the poverty of the treasury 
for some months past. And so dissatisfied are the 
people at being kept out of their money, that they 

* On September 3d Washington had written him as follows : 
" The services you have rendered the army have been important, 
and such as have gained my entire approbation, which I have not 
failed to express on more than one occasion to Congress in strong 
and explicit terms. The sense of the army on this head, I believe, 
concurs with mine. I think it is not more than justice to you to 
say that I am persuaded you have uniformly exerted yourself to 
second my measures, and our operations in general, in the most 
effectual manner which the public resources and the circumstances 
of the times would peraiit." 



132 GENERAL GREENE. 

have begun to sue the public agents. ... So strict 
arc the laws of some States, and so attentive are the 
magistrates to guard the people's property, that the 
forage officers have been prosecuted and heavily 
fined for presuming to take forage on the march of 
the army (to save the public cattle from starving) 
by virtue of a press warrant granted by the com- 
mander in chief." He asks that Congress will take 
prompt steps to appoint his successor, and states 
that he will give every information and assistance in 
the matter that is within his power. 

This letter was certainly courteous in tone, and 
related to matters of the highest importance. Con- 
gress made no reply, and, as far as could be learned, 
paid no attention to it. After a month had passed 
Greene wrote another letter, dated January 13, 1780, 
calling attention to his previous letter, and saying 
that, in view of "the alarming crisis to which things 
are drawing, and the necessity of applying a remedy 
before the evil becomes incurable," he "can not help 
pressing for an answer." He realizes that " there 
are many weighty matters before Congress," but he 
can not help thinking that the business of the quar- 
termaster's department " claims their earliest atten- 
tion." No reply was made to this, but on January 
20th a resolution was passed appointing three com- 
missioners to inquire into the condition of the staff, 
to introduce such changes as might be necessary, and 
generally to superintend its affairs. Schuyler, Pick- 
ering, and Mifflin were appointed on this commission. 
The first two were eminently qualified for any such 
duty, but Mifflin was still under investigation for his 
mismanagement and neglect of the business when he 
was himself quartermaster general, and he was known 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 133 

to be personally hostile to Washington and Greene. 
His appointment was evidence that a faction in Con- 
gress had succeeded in using this commission to 
gratify private animosities instead of improving the 
public service. As Greene could get no reply from 
Congress, he wrote to his friend Reed, who was now 
Governor of Pennsylvania, for information, and 
Reed replied : " I will venture to tell you that you 
have nothing to expect from public gratitude or per- 
sonal attention, and that you will do well to prepare 
yourself at all points for events. . . . Upon the 
whole, I still retain my opinion of the propriety of 
your being here as soon as possible, and in the mean- 
time I can only inform you of two things with cer- 
tainty : First, that the plan of the department will 
be altered as to commissions; second, that nothing 
but necessity will induce them to continue the pres- 
ent department, for, though it may have a great 
deal of the utile, it has little of the dulce on the 
palate of Congress. But you will be drilled on till 
the campaign opens, and, if they can not do better, 
they may keep you." 

Greene hesitated to go to Philadelphia for fear 
that he would be accused of seeking to retain his 
place when in reality he desired to give it np. But 
Washington advised him to go, and he finally did so, 
arriving in Philadelphia on March 25th. He had a 
conference with a committee on the 27th, and learned 
that Mififlin and others had brought in a plan for the 
quartermaster's department, which Schuyler thought 
would "starve the army in ten days." Congress, 
having no money and having exhausted its credit, 
and being unable to devise any financial system, had 
adopted the idea of calling on the States to furnish 



134 GENERAL GREENE. 

supplies in kind. On this basis Mifflin had con- 
structed a plan which added enormously to the 
duties of the commander in chief, which were already 
too heavy, and left the quartermaster general with 
almost nothing to do. On April 3d Greene wrote 
to Congress saying that on his arrival he had spoken 
to the committee of the injury he felt in having 
commissioners appointed to superintend his depart- 
ment, and had " requested to know whether there 
was the real want of confidence in my integrity or 
ability which those appointments but too strongly 
indicated, and urged this as a necessary step to a 
further explanation. I have been waiting a whole 
week for an answer, but as I find I am not likely to 
obtain one, and as I conceive my attendance is no 
longer necessary here, I propose to set out for camp 
the next day after to-morrow and there await the 
issue of the business." 

The tone of this letter was not judicious, and its 
effect was heightened by the speech of a superser- 
viceable friend in the debate which followed. A 
resolution was introduced on the 5th, expressing 
confidence in his ability and integrity, and requesting 
him to continue to act as quartermaster general, 
when this friend took occasion to say that Greene 
was " an officer in whom the commander in chief had 
the highest confidence; that he was the first of all 
the subordinate generals in point of military knowl- 
edge and ability ; that in case of an accident happen- 
ing to General Washington, he would be the proper- 
est person to command the army, and that General 
Washington thought so too." All this was true enough, 
but it was put forward in an offensive manner, and it 
led another member to reply that he " had a very 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 135 

high opinion of General Greene's military abilities; 
that he believed the general had too ; but that he 
believed no person on earth was authorized to say 
as much as the last words implied"; whereupon 
amendments were moved, the debate became very 
hot, and it was necessary to take an adjournment to 
allow the members to cool. 

Greene returned to Morristown in a very uncom- 
fortable frame of mind, and on April 25th wrote to 
Reed as follows: "If I force myself out of the de- 
partment and any great misfortune happens, no 
matter from what cause, it will be chargeable to my 
account. If I stay in it, and things go wrong or any 
failure happens, I stand responsible. What to do or 
how to act I am at a loss. I think, upon the whole, 
your advice is prudent and on the safer side of the 
question ; and therefore I determine to seek all op- 
portunities to get out of the business. I feel myself 
so soured and hurt at the ungenerous as well as 
illiberal treatment of Congress and the different 
boards, that it will be impossible for me to do busi- 
ness with them with proper temper ; and, besides, I 
have lost all confidence in the rectitude and justice 
of their intentions. The Board of Treasury have 
written me one of the most insulting letters I have 
ever received either from a public or private hand. 
I shall write them as tart an answer, and, as I ex- 
pect it will bring on a quarrel, I shall have occa- 
sion to call on you and others to certify the manner 
of my engaging in this business, the circumstances 
it was under, and all other matters that may be 
necessary to give the public a proper idea of the part 
I have acted." 

Just before Greene left Philadelphia [April 3d], 



136 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Washington had written to Congress pointing out 
the utter impracticability of the system of getting 
suppUes in kind from the States, and urging the 
adoption of some measures that would put the quar- 
termaster's department in position to supply the 
army so that a summer campaign could be under- 
taken. On receiving this, a committee, consisting of 
Schuyler, Matthews, and Peabody, was appointed to 
go to camp and consult with the commander in chief. 
They arrived during the latter part of April, and re- 
mained at headquarters for several months. On the 
2d of May they asked Greene to give his views con- 
cerning the system of State supplies, and other 
matters pertaining to the quartermaster's depart- 
ment. Greene had never received any replies to the 
various communications he had made to Congress 
during the last four months, and he felt much ag- 
grieved at its treatment of him. He replied to the 
committee that he could not venture to give his 
opinion on the matters in question until they had 
made an inquiry into his past management of the 
department. If they found it satisfactory in view of 
the difficulties he had had to contend with, he would 
cheerfully co-operate with them in any plans for the 
future; but if they found it otherwise, it would be 
improper for them to ask or him to give any opinion 
on the matters in question. The committee made a 
temperate reply, asking him to consider the public 
welfare and waive his application, and give them the 
benefit of his abilities and experience in their de- 
liberations. But Greene felt that he had been badly 
treated, and he was obstinate. He replied that he 
must insist upon an examination of the general 
policy of his department, so that the suspicions 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 137 

which had been scattered broadcast might be re- 
moved. Until that was done he declined to act with 
the committee, and in any event he would refuse to 
serve under the orders of any superintending board, 
except the Board of War or a committee of Congress. 
The committee made no written reply. Doubtless 
Washington and Schuyler, for whom Greene had 
great regard, persuaded him in conversation that his 
position was untenable, for he soon after came into 
friendly relations with the committee, all of whom 
became warmly attached to him, and a few weeks 
later certified their full approval of his management 
of the department. He went to work with them in 
the heartiest manner, assisting them in their investi- 
gations, and honestly striving to work out some sys- 
tem for the improvement of the business. 

Just as these pleasant relations were established, 
however, came another insulting letter from the 
Treasury Board about his accounts. He was ordered 
to send in his accounts before the end of the month, 
or be " published and prosecuted." Greene was 
doing everything in his power to get prompt returns, 
but his agents and subordinates were scattered from 
Massachusetts to Georgia, and it was manifestly 
impossible to get their returns in less than a month. 
The tone of the order was designedly offensive. 
Greene consulted Hamilton, who advised him to 
write a mild reply, but he rejected the advice and 
wrote them as sharply as possible. Another letter 
came from them in June, and then he laid the whole 
matter before Congress. His letter was dated June 
19th, and with it he transmitted copies of all his cor- 
respondence with the Treasury Board. This board 
was attempting to hold him individually and per- 



138 GENERAL GREENE. 

sonally responsible for any irregularities on the part 
of his subordinates in expending public money. He 
calls this a " strange, new, and unexpected doctrine," 
argues at length against the propriety or possibility 
of enforcing it, and flatly refuses to submit to it. 
" The duties of this office are very complex, exten- 
sive, and extremely disagreeable in the best state of 
things, from the great variety of tempers, characters, 
and applications attending it ; but when these are 
multiplied by improper restriction, accompanied with 
orders from different boards, which in the nature of 
thmgs can not be conformed to, the business becomes 
intolerable; nor do I choose to contend with such a 
complication of difficulties. 

"I hold the office of quartermaster general not 
of choice, but with a view of obliging the public, and 
I can not think of exposing myself to so many un- 
necessary embarrassments and mortifications as beset 
me in my present standing. 

" I beg Congress to give me their sense of the 
matter, without which 1 can not proceed further in 
the business." 

Congress referred this letter to a committee com- 
posed of Ellsworth, Duane, and Madison. They con- 
sidered it for a month, and then on July 24th re- 
ported a resolution, which was adopted, in which the 
doctrine of the Treasury Board in regard to respon- 
sibility is upheld as a general principle ; but they 
say that as " abuses and frauds may possibly happen 
notwithstanding all the customary precautions, they 
will determine on the circumstances as they arise, 
and make such favorable allowances as justice may 
require." This was a decision directly against Greene 
in his controversy with the Treasury Board, and 



QUARTERMASTER GENERAL— SPRINGFIELD. 139 

would undoubtedly have caused his resignation. But 
several days before he received it he had already 
resigned in consequence of other action taken by 
Congress. 

During the nnonth of June Greene had a taste of 
purely military duty which offered a pleasant break 
in his long contest with Congress about the quarter- 
master's department. The sufferings of the troops 
for lack of food, clothing, and pay had caused a 
mutiny among some of the regiments, and when the 
British heard of this they sought to take advantage 
of it. Knyphausen was therefore ordered to cross 
from Staten Island to Elizabeth, about June 6th, 
and advance toward Morristown. The militia were 
called out, but there was no serious opposition to 
his progress until he reached the village of Spring- 
field, about half way between Elizabeth and Morris- 
town. Just back of this village is a broken country 
known as the Short Hills, and here Washington was 
posted with his army in compact formation, prepared 
to receive an attack. The stories about mutinies 
were evidently exaggerated, and Knyphausen retired 
to Elizabeth. Soon afterward Clinton sailed into 
New York Harbor, bringing with him about half of 
the force that he had used in the capture of Charles- 
ton. Washington anticipated that Clinton would 
make an attempt on the passes in the Highlands, 
which were thinly garrisoned, and therefore, on June 
2ist, he moved in the direction of the Hudson, leav- 
ing Greene in command at Springfield with Maxwell's 
and Stark's brigades, Lee's corps of light horse, and 
the militia. His directions to Greene were "to 
cover the country and the public stores." As soon 



I40 



GENERAL GREENE. 



as Clinton heard that Washington with the main 
body had moved toward the north, he instructed 
Knyphausen to make an attack on Greene's detach- 
ment at Springfield. Knyphausen did so on June 
23d, w^ith a force of about five thousand infantry, a 
considerable body of cavalry, and fifteen or twenty 
pieces of artillery. 

This force moved in two columns on roads con- 
verging at Springfield, and when they arrived at this 
village a very considerable skirmish ensued in which 
Greene's loss was thirteen killed, forty-nine wounded, 
and nine missing. After about an hour's fighting, 
Knyphausen began to manoeuvre with the evident 
intention of turning Greene's left flank ; whereupon 
Greene moved backward about a mile and took a 
strong position in the Short Hills, covering the 
passes through which the roads led to Morristown. 
In this position he waited and hoped for an attack, 
but Knyphausen did not follow him. He contented 
himself with setting fire to the houses in Springfield, 
and then started in retreat to Elizabeth. Greene 
sent one of his brigades and the militia in pursuit, 
but the retreat was made so rapidly that it was im- 
possible to overtake Knyphausen's force. He crossed 
over to Staten Island during the night, and his ex- 
pedition thus came to an end. This was the last 
fighting on the soil of New Jersey during the war. 
About July ist Greene joined Washington and the 
main body of the army, which was posted in New 
Jersey from Ramapo to Orange, waiting for develop- 
ments on the part of Clinton and the arrival of the 
French fleet. 



CHAPTER IX. 

RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL — WEST 
POINT — 1780. 

This pleasant little military episode at Spring- 
field being over, Greene returned to his vexatious 
struggle about the quartermaster's business. He 
was waiting for a reply to his letter to Congress of 
June 19th, protesting against the attempt of the 
Treasury Board to hold him personally liable for any 
malfeasance on the part of his subordinates. Mean- 
time he was in daily consultation with the committee, \ 
composed of Schuyler, Matthews, and Peabody, who 
had been sent to camp during the latter part of April 
to examine the quartermaster's department and had 
remained at headquarters ever since, moving from ; 
point to point as Washington moved. They had i 
spent two months in studying the problem of sup- ^ 
plies and gaining the information necessary to make 
an intelligent report on the subject of their investi- 
gations. Matthews, who had come to camp strongly 
prejudiced against Greene, had now conceived a 
great admiration for him, and the committee was 
about ready to adopt a plan for the quartermaster's 
department which had been proposed by Washington, 
Schuyler, and Greene, and as a part of which Greene 
had insisted that his compensation should be nothing 
but reimbursement of his actual expenses. Congress, 



142 



GENERAL GREENE. 



however, after sending this committee to camp, did 
not in any way relax its own consideration of the 
subject, nor wait for reports from its committee. It 
was daily deliberating upon its own plan for the 
quartermaster's department, and it finally adopted 
this on July 15th. It was quite lengthy, and it had 
to be printed, so that it did not reach Washington in 
camp until July 26th. On the loth of July, however, 
the French fleet arrived at Newport with the first di- 
vision of the French army, amounting to more than 
five thousand men, under Rochambeau. Heath, who 
had succeeded Gates in the command of Providence, 
sent a messenger post-haste to Washington with the 
news, and he arrived at Washington's headquarters 
at Preakness, in Bergen County, New Jersey, on the 
14th of July. Washington, with that promptness 
which characterized him in all emergencies of this 
kind, instantly made his plans for a prompt move- 
ment, in connection with the French forces, designed 
to capture New York. He sent Lafayette with letters 
to Rochambeau, and on the very day that Heath's 
messenger arrived he wrote to Greene, telling him to 
make arrangements for the supply of about forty 
thousand men, which it was expected would be used 
in an attack upon New York. He told Greene to 
apply to the States for the supplies in kind which 
they were required to furnish under the recent plan 
of Congress, and to make requisition on the Treasury 
Board for cash to purchase such supplies as the 
States were not bound to furnish, but which would 
still be necessary. He also says : " I have been in 
anxious expectation that some plan would be deter- 
mined upon for your department ; but as it has not 
hitherto taken place, and as it is impossible to delay 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 143 

its operations a moment longer, I have to desire that 
you will yourself arrange it in some effectual man- 
ner to give dispatch and efificacy to your measures 
equal to the emergency. Your knowledge and ex- 
perience in the business will be sufficient to direct 
your conduct without my going into more particular 
instructions." This order placed Greene in a very 
embarrassing position. He had himself written to 
Congress, stating substantially that, unless the pre- 
tensions of the Treasury Board were overruled, he 
should resign. He knew that Congress was de- 
liberating upon a plan for the department, and he 
had reason to suspect that it would be impossible 
for him to act under it. There was a committee in 
camp which was also considering the subject. While 
all these matters were pending, Washington gave 
him a positive order to regulate the department him- 
self in some manner, so that he could undertake an 
expedition against New York. He therefore thought 
it best to state his position clearly to Schuyler's com- 
mittee, which he did in a long letter of the same date — 
July 14th — as Washington's order. At the same time 
he determined to do everything in his power to com- 
ply with Washington's order, and on the 15th he wrote 
to the governors of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, 
making requisitions for the stores in kind. On the 
i6th the committee in camp replied, stating that 
they agreed with him in his views concerning his 
personal responsibility, and they took occasion to 
say that, after having examined his arrangement of 
the department, " we are convinced the measures 
you have taken and the principles on which these 
measures were founded were well calculated to pro- 
mote the service, and they fully evince your attention 



144 GENERAL GREENE. 

to the public interest." They refrained, however, 
from expressing any opinion as to the conduct of his 
subordinates. For the next week, Washington, the 
committee, and Greene were all busy making plans 
for the attack on New York, but on July 26th Wash- 
ington transmitted to Greene the copy which he had 
just received of the plan adopted in Congress on the 
15th for the government of the quartermaster's de- 
partment. It contained all the features which he 
had protested against as cumbersome and impracti- 
cable, and it moreover deprived him of the services 
of Colonel Pettit and Mr. Cox, the two deputies for 
whose appointment he had expressly stipulated on 
taking the ofifice, two and a half years before. Greene 
decided instantly that he would not hold the office 
under this plan, and he sat down on the same day 
that it was communicated to him and wrote his resig- 
nation. Its language was peremptory, and was not 
altogether fitting. He felt so injured that he failed 
to keep his temper. He said : "I do not choose to 
attempt an experiment of so dangerous a nature where 
I see a physical impossibility of performing the duties 
that will be required of me. Wherefore I request 
that Congress will appoint another quartermaster 
general without loss of time, as I shall give no order 
in the business further than to acquaint the deputies 
with the new system, and direct them to close their 
accounts up to the first of August coming. 

" It is unnecessary for me to go into the general 
objections I have to this plan. It is sufficient to say 
that my feelings are injured, and that the officers 
necessary to conduct the business are not allowed ; 
nor is proper provision made for some of those that 
are. There is but one assistant quartermaster general, 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 145 

who is to reside near Congress, and one deputy for 
the main army allowed in the system. Whoever has 
the least knowledge of the business in this office, and 
the field duty which is to be done, must be fully con- 
vinced that it IS impossible to perform it without 
much more assistance than is allowed in the present 
arrangement. . . . Systems without agents are use- 
less things, and the probability of getting the one 
should be taken into consideration in framing the 
other. Administration seem to think it far less im- 
portant to the public interest to have this depart- 
ment well filled and properly arranged than it really 
is, and as they will find it by future experience. . . , 
My rank is high in the line of the army, and the 
sacrifices I have made on this account, together with 
the fatigue and anxiety I have undergone, far over- 
balance all the emoluments I have received from the 
appointment. Nor would double the consideration 
induce me to tread the same path over again, unless 
I saw it necessary to preserve my country from entire 
ruin and a disgraceful servitude." 

Greene sent a copy of this letter to the represent- 
atives of Congress in camp, and also to Washington. 
Washington made no written reply, but the commit- 
tee consulted with him and wrote to Greene as fol- 
lows : ". . . We are perfectly in sentiment with him 
'that your declining to act at present will be produc- 
tive of such a scene of confusion and distress that it 
will be impossible to remedy the evil or to reduce 
the business to a proper channel during the remain- 
der of the campaign ' ; we have therefore most ear- 
nestly to entreat that you will continue to direct the 
department until the sense of Congress can be ob- 
tained on your letter of the 26th, and on ours of yes- 



146 GENERAL GREENE. 

terday ; but, as you positively decline acting under 
the plan established by Congress on the 15th inst., 
which has been officially handed to you by the com- 
mander in chief, and as the consequences which we 
have stated must inevitably follow, and probably be 
extended to eradicate every hope which the country 
entertains of an efficient operation against the enemy 
in conjunction with the force of our ally, we conceive 
it indispensably our duty, from these considerations, 
to require of you to continue the direction of the 
quartermaster general's department under the order 
of the commander in chief, as signified in his order 
to you of the 14th, and on the conditions stated in 
our letter of the i6th, until the further pleasure of 
Congress can be known; and we undertake to justify 
you for acting in consequence of this requisition, and 
will submit our conduct on this occasion to the judg- 
ment of Congress." 

It was undoubtedly a most unfortunate time for 
such a change to take place. Clinton had started 
toward Newport with the view of attacking the 
French forces, and, as a counter move, Washington 
was just drawing up orders for a demonstration on 
his part against New York. The troops were to 
cross the Hudson River the following day and move 
down toward Kingsbridge. These considerations, 
and the support which the committee promised him 
in their letter, induced Greene to continue the busi- 
ness for ten days longer. Meantime his resignation 
was on its way toward Philadelphia, and it was fol- 
lowed by two letters — one from Washington and one 
from Schuyler's committee — in which it was stated 
that " unless effectual measures are immediately taken 
to induce General Greene and the other principal offi- 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 147 

cers of that department to continue their services, 
there must of necessity be a total stagnation of mili- 
tary business. We not only must cease from the 
preparations for the campaign, but in all probability 
shall be obliged to disperse, if not disband, the army 
for want of subsistence." 

Greene's letter of resignation reached Congress 
on Saturday, July 29th, and was referred to a com- 
mittee to report on the following Monday. When 
Congress met on that day, the letters from Wash- 
ington and their own committee were laid before 
them. Congress was in a rage, and its wrath was 
increased by the fact that its own committee in camp 
seemed to agree with Greene. There was a very hot 
discussion, and then Greene's letter was sent back to 
the committee, which brought in its report the fol- 
lowing day, and recommended the passage of these 
resolutions: 

"That General Greene's refusal be accepted. 

" That General Washington be empowered and 
directed to appoint a quartermaster general. 

" That General Greene be acquainted that Con- 
gress have no further service for him." 

Greene stood too high, however, in public estima- 
tion to be turned out in this summary fashion. The 
report of the committee was taken up and debated 
every day for a week, but no action was had upon 
it. Finally, on August 5th, this resolution was 
passed; " That the absolute refusal of Major-Gen- 
eral Greene at this important crisis to act under the 
new arrangement of the quartermaster general's de- 
partment has made it necessary that the office of 
quartermaster general be immediately filled." They 
therefore proceeded to elect Pickering as quarter- 



148 



GENERAL GREENE. 



master general, with the rank of colonel and the pay 
of a brigadier general, over and above his pay of one 
hundred and fifty-six dollars per month (in specie) as 
quartermaster general. 

The feeling against the committee was almost as 
strong as against Greene. On August 2d a resolu- 
tion was passed saying that the question of the 
quartermaster general's responsibility had been de- 
termined by Congress, "and, as the committee knew 
that the quartermaster general has requested the 
sense of Congress on so important a subject, they 
ought not to have interfered therein." A few days 
later Congress passed a resolution discharging the 
committee from any further attendance in camp and 
directing them to immediately report their proceed- 
ings to Congress. 

Among the members of Congress who had been 
instrumental in forming the new system was Joseph 
Jones, of Virginia, who wrote to Washington on the 
7th of August, giving a statement of the case, saying 
that Congress was greatly perplexed at Greene's re- 
fusal, and that " if General Greene thought the new 
system wanted amendment and had pointed out the 
defects. Congress would have considered the matter," 
and perhaps have made the necessary alterations ; but, 
he went on to say, "the manner of these demands 
made in such peremptory terms, at the moment of 
action, when the campaign was opened, the enemy 
in the field, and our ally waiting for co-operation, has 
lessened General Greene not only in the opinion of 
Congress, but, I think, of the public, and I question 
whether it will terminate with the acceptance of his 
refusal only." 

This threat of summary measures against Greene 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 14Q 

gave Washington an opportunity, which he quickly- 
seized, to express his own views on the matter. Re- 
ferring to the intimation contained in Jones's letter, 
he says: " Let me beseech you to consider well what 
you are about before you resolve. I shall neither 
condemn nor acquit General Greene's conduct for 
the act of resignation, because all the antecedent 
correspondence is necessary to form a right judg- 
ment of the matter, and possibly, if the account is 
ever brought before the public, you may find him 
treading on better ground that you seem to imagine; 
but this by the bye. My sole aim at present is to ad- 
vertise you of what I think would be the consequences 
of suspending him from his command in the line (a 
matter distinct from the other) without a proper 
trial. A procedure of this kind must touch the feel- 
ings of every officer. It will show in a conspicuous 
point of view the uncertain tenure by which they hold 
their commissions. In a word, it will exhibit such a 
specimen of power, that I question much if there is 
an officer in the whole line that will hold a commis- 
sion beyond the end of the campaign, if he does till 
then. Such an act in the most despotic Government 
would be attended at least with loud complaints. . . . 
Each will ask himself this question : If Congress, by 
its mere fiat, without inquiry and without trial, will 
suspend an officer to-day, and an officer of such high 
rank, may it not be my turn to-morrow ? and ought I 
to put it in the power of any man or body of men to 
sport with my commission and character, and lay me 
under the necessity of tamely acquiescing, or, by an 
appeal to the public, exposing matters which must be 
injurious to- its interests ? . . . Suifer not, my friend, 
if it is within the powers of your ability to prevent 



I50 GENERAL GREENE. 

it, so disagreeable an event to take place. I do not 
mean to justify, to countenance, or excuse in the 
most distant degree any expressions of disrespect 
which the gentleman in question, if he has used any, 
may have offered to Congress, no more than I do any 
unreasonable matters he may have required respecting 
the quartermaster general's department; but, as 1 
have already observed, my letter is to prevent his sus- 
pension, because I fear, because I feel, that it must 
lead to very disagreeable and injurious consequences. 
General Greene has his numerous friends out of the 
army as well as in it ; and, from his character and 
consideration in the world, he might not, when he 
felt himself wounded in so summary a way, withhold 
himself from a discussion that could not, at best, 
promote the public cause. As a military officer he 
stands very fair, and very deservedly so, in the opin- 
ion of all his acquaintance. These sentiments are 
the result of my own reflections, and I hasten to in- 
form you of them. I do not know that General 
Greene has ever heard of the matter, and I hope he 
never may; nor am I acquainted with the opinion of 
a single officer in the whole army upon the subject, 
nor will any tone be given by me. It is my wish to 
prevent the proceeding; for sure I am that it can 
not be brought to a happy issue if it takes place." 

Whether Greene's enemies in Congress could in 
any case have mustered enough votes to pass the 
proposed resolution dismissing him from the service 
is very doubtful ; after the receipt of this letter from 
Washington it was not even attempted. The resolu- 
tions were never acted upon, and the resentment 
gradually simmered away to nothing. 

The demonstration against New York made by 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 151 

Washington on the 27th had been sufificient to recall 
Clinton with his troops to New York, but Howe's fleet 
went on to Newport and blockaded the French fleet 
there. Pending the arrival of the second division, 
the French fleet was inferior to the British, and De 
Ternay did not feel strong enough to risk an engage- 
ment. Rochambeau also did not consider his force suf- 
ficient to attempt any land operations. Washington 
certainly had not men enough to attack New York. 
The prospect of active operations held out in Wash- 
ington's letter of July 14th to Greene was therefore 
postponed, pending the arrival of the second division 
of the French fleet. Washington moved the greater 
part of his army back to the west side of the Hud- 
son, and established works on both sides at Dobb's 
Ferry. His headquarters were first at Orange, and 
then at Tappan, where he remained until September 
i8th, when he set out for Hartford to have a personal 
conference with Rochambeau. 

Meanwhile Greene had to continue to act as 
quartermaster general, against his protests. He had 
agreed with the committee to serve for ten days 
from July 26th, the date of his resignation. He had 
issued circulars to all his subordinates to send in 
their accounts and close up their business. The ten 
days came to an end and nothing had been done. 
He asked Washington, on August 5th, to " take meas- 
ures for relieving me as soon as possible from the 
disagreeable predicament I am in " ; and he also 
asked Washington for his opinion on his conduct in 
the management of the quartermaster's department. 
Washington replied : " When you quit the department 
I shall be happy to give you my sense of your con- 
duct, and I am persuaded it will be such as will be 



152 GENERAL GREENE. 

entirely satisfactory "; he said, however, thiat Greene 
must not leave the department until it was known 
what action Congress took on the letters from Wash- 
ington and the committee, which were forwarded 
the day after Greene's resignation. On August loth 
it was learned that these letters had angered Con- 
gress almost as much as Greene's resignation, and 
that Pickering had been appointed quartermaster 
general. Washington quietly comments on this as 
follows : " Whether he will be supplied with the 
means of procuring what is necessary in the depart- 
ment, or whether the new system is calculated to 
produce them, is yet to be known." The same 
messenger brought the letter of Joseph Jones, to 
which Washington replied on the 13th in the lan- 
guage already quoted. And on the 15th he gives 
Greene his opinion of his administration. The letter 
is a model for conciseness and temperate approba- 
tion, and it is given in full : " As you are retiring 
from the office of quartermaster general, and have 
requested my sense of your conduct and services 
while you acted in it, I shall give it to you with the 
greatest cheerfulness and pleasure. You have con- 
ducted the various duties of it with capacity and 
diligence, entirely to my satisfaction, and, as far as I 
have had an opportunity of knowing, with the 
strictest integrity. When you were prevailed upon 
to undertake the ofifice, in March, 1778, it was in 
great disorder and confusion, and by extraordinary 
exertions you so arranged it as to enable the army 
to take the field the moment it was necessary, and to 
move with rapidity after the enemy when they left 
Philadelphia. From that period to the present time 
your exertions have been equally great. They have 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 153 

appeared to me to be the result of system, and to 
have been well calculated to promote the interest 
and honor of your country. In fine, I can not but 
add that the States have had in you, in my opinion, 
an able, upright, and diligent servant.'' 

Pickering was expected in a few days, and Greene 
therefore continued to act as quartermaster general 
without asking for further instructions. The few 
days, however, proved to be six weeks, and it was 
not until September 30th that he was finally relieved 
of this office. In the meantime the condition of the 
army grew worse instead of better. The plan of ob- 
taining supplies in kind from the States was a total 
failure, and on August 20th Washington was obliged 
to write to Congress that he would have to dismiss 
the militia which were assembling, "or let them come 
forward to starve, which it will be extremely difficult 
for the troops already in the field to avoid." As 
there was almost nothing m camp to eat, for either 
men or animals, it became necessary to organize a 
raid and collect supplies from the Tory inhabitants 
along the west side of the Hudson opposite New 
York. As it was to be made in face of Clinton's 
army, a considerable force was necessary, and four 
brigades were detailed on August 24th, under Greene's 
orders. The raid was successful, and collected enough 
food to last about a month ; but it led to unauthor- 
ized plundering, which Greene promptly suppressed. 
He asked Washington's authority to hang two of 
the culprits, and, on receiving it, he promptly did so. 

On the 1 2th of September Washington received the 
news of Gates's total defeat at Camden, S. C, and he 
determined to go to Hartford to meet Rochambeau 
and decide upon a plan for future operations. He 



154 GENERAL GREENE. 

started on the i8th, leaving Greene in command of 
the army at Tappan. In his instructions to Greene 
he said : " I have such entire confidence in your 
prudence and abilities that I leave the conduct of 
it to your discretion, with only one observation: 
that with our present prospects it is not our business 
to seek an action, or accept one, but upon advan- 
tageous terms." 

Nothing of consequence transpired at headquar- 
ters during the week that Washington was absent. 
Greene's principal occupation was in sending out 
foraging parties to collect food and save the army 
from starving. About midnight on September 25th 
he received a letter from Hamilton, dated at Ver- 
planck's Point that afternoon, and reading as follows : 
" There has just been unfolded at this place a scene 
of the blackest treason, Arnold has fled to the enemy. 
Andre, the British adjutant general, is in our pos- 
session as a spy. His capture unraveled the mystery. 
West Point was to have been the sacrifice. All the 
dispositions have been made for the purpose, and 'tis 
possible, though not probable, to-night may see the 
execution. The wind is fair. I came here in pursuit 
of Arnold, but was too late. I advise you putting 
the army under marching orders, and detaching a 
brigade immediately this way." 

It was a dark night, and the rain was falling fast; 
but if the Hudson, quietly flowing past Greene's tent, 
had suddenly burst into flames, it would have been 
less startling than this astounding piece of news. 
Greene instantly issued the orders which Hamilton 
had suggested, and then started a messenger to Con- 
gress with a copy of Hamilton's letter. At three 
o'clock in the night the army was paraded, and the 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 155 

Pennsylvania brigade began its march up the river. 
A few minutes later came a letter from Washington, 
dated at Robinson's house at seven o'clock on the 
previous evening, directing him to march the left 
wing of the army to King's Ferry, and to hold the 
rest in readiness to march at a moment's notice. 
Greene replied that these dispositions had already 
been taken on the receipt of Hamilton's note. He 
waited for further orders, but none came until the 
next day, September 27th, when he received word 
from Washington that Andre and Smith had been 
sent to camp, and that Andre was to be kept in a 
decent room and " be treated with civility, but that 
he be so guarded as to preclude the possibility of his 
escapmg." Washington had meanwhile taken other 
steps for the security of West Point, and on the 28th 
he arrived at headquarters at Tappan. Greene felt 
almost a personal shame at Arnold's treason. In a 
letter to his wife, on the 29th, describing the event, 
he says: " My pride and feelings are greatly hurt at 
the infamy of this man's conduct. Arnold being an 
American and a New Englander, and of the rank of 
major general, are all mortifying circumstances. 
The event will be a reproach to us to the latest 
posterity. Curse on his folly and perfidy." On the 
29th Washington resumed command of the army, 
and appointed a court, of which Greene was presi- 
dent, for the consideration of Andre's case. It was 
composed of six major generals : Greene, Stirling, 
St. Clair, Lafayette, R. Howe, and Steuben ; and eight 
brigadiers : Parsons, J. Clinton, Knox, Glover, Pater- 
son, Hand, Huntingdon, and Stark. Colonel John 
Lawrence was judge advocate. 

Greene's careful study of Vattel now stood him 



156 GENERAL GREENE. 

in good stead against the pretensions that Andr6 
was protected by Arnold's flag of truce. This 
claim was not indeed raised by Andre, but by Clin- 
ton, in a letter to Washington which was laid before 
the court. Andre told his story briefly. No wit- 
nesses were examined. The court was cleared in 
the usual manner and the case considered. Begin- 
ning with the junior member, each in turn voted 
that Andre be considered as a spy and that he suffer 
death. The opinion of the court was written out, 
and Greene signed it as president and handed it to 
Washington. On the following day, September 30th, 
Washington approved it, and ordered that Andre be 
executed at 5 p. m. on October ist. But on the 30th 
Washington had informed Clinton of the conclusions 
of the court, and Clinton instantly replied, saying 
that he had sent Lieutenant-General Robertson, 
Lieutenant-Governor Elliot, and Chief-Justice Smith 
to make a statement of the case, and he asked a 
hearing for them. Washington suspended the exe- 
cution, and directed Greene to receive them at Dobb's 
Ferry. Greene met their barge at the water's edge 
on the afternoon of October ist. He refused to 
allow any one but General Robertson to land, and he 
informed him that by Washington's order he met 
him as a private gentleman only, and not as an 
officer. Robertson endeavored to persuade Greene 
that Andre was acting under a flag of truce, but 
Greene replied that that question had been con- 
sidered fully by the court and decided in the nega- 
tive. Robertson then proposed that the question 
should be submitted to " disinterested gentlemen of 
knowledge of the law of war and nations," and sug- 
gested Knyphausen and Rochambeau as such arbi- 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 157 

trators; but Greene declared that the deliberate 
decision of a competent tribunal could not be over- 
ruled in this fashion. Robertson then submitted a 
letter from Arnold justifying Andre's course — prob- 
ably the most consummately impudent letter ever 
written. It is said that Greene read it and then 
threw it contemptuously on the ground. The inter- 
view lasted till nearly nightfall, and without any 
result. Then Robertson asked Greene to " represent 
my arguments to General Washington in the fairest 
light." Greene willingly promised to do so, and 
they parted, Greene riding back to Washington's 
headquarters at Tappan, and Robertson returning to 
his schooner anchored off Dobb's Ferry. On the 
following morning Greene wrote to Robertson; 
"Agreeably to your request, I communicated to 
General Washington the substance of your conversa- 
tion in all the particulars so far as my memory 
served me. It made no alteration in his opinion and 
determination. I need say no more after what you 
have already been informed." 

At noon on the same day, October 2d, a part of 
the American army was paraded under command of 
Greene, and in their presence Andr^ was taken out 
and hanged. 

On the 30th of September, Pickering having ar- 
rived at camp, Washington issued an order announc- 
ing to the army his appointment as quartermaster 
general. In the same order he thanked Greene "for 
the able and satisfactory manner in which he had 
discharged the duties of that office." Greene was 
thus at last freed from this vexatious business, and 
with a light heart he returned to the congenial 
duties of the line. He was beyond question the 



158 GENERAL GREENE. 

most efficient quartermaster general of the war. 
With the slender resources placed at his command 
by a Congress which, whatever its virtues in other 
directions, was wholly lacking in administrative 
capacity, he accomplished far more than his pre- 
decessor Mifflin or his successor Pickering. Wash- 
ington said deliberately that he had performed the 
duties '■'■ entirely to my satisfaction" and nothing need 
be added to this. But, as Greene wrote Knox in the 
beginning, he hated the place; and he never over- 
came his repugnance to it. When, instead of grati- 
tude for what he considered a great sacrifice on his 
part, he met criticism for defects beyond his control, 
and insinuations that he was holding the place from 
mercenary motives, he began the long contest with 
Congress which resulted in his peremptorily refusing 
to serve any longer. His manner of doing this was 
lacking in dignity. But for the fact that Washington 
so strongly urged him to take the place, and put 
the matter before him in the light of a public duty, 
it was a mistake for him ever to have taken it at all. 
Having taken it, and found it even more distasteful 
than he anticipated, he should have resigned at the 
end of the first campaign — in December, 1778 — when 
he first learned from his friend Henry Marchant of 
the criticisms that were being made upon his admin- 
istration by a faction in Congress, If he felt it his 
duty to continue in office for another campaign, he 
was fully absolved from this by the cavalier treat- 
ment which he received from Congress when it re- 
fused to answer his respectful, courteous, and most 
important letters of December, 1779, and January, 
1780. A simple and positive letter of resignation 
would then have freed him from the office without 



RESIGNS AS QUARTERMASTER GENERAL. 159 

giving the slightest cause for adverse comment. But 
he so often spoke of resigning, that he gave color to 
the belief that he was only making threats of resig- 
nation for the purpose of compelling the adoption of 
his own views in regard to the method of administra- 
tion. After six months of wrangling, he finally had 
to resign just at a time when an important movement 
of the army was thought to be imminent. As to the 
manner of his resignation and the tone of his letters, 
Washington felt obliged to refrain from expressing 
any opinion. He could hardly fail to disapprove 
them, for they were very different from those which 
he himself adopted, though he had more than once 
as great, if not greater, cause for resentment. 

But though his exit was not as dignified as might 
have been wished, he was at last out of the place, 
and he at once sought a regular command in the 
line. On the 5th of October he applied for the com- 
mand at West Point, and Washington immediately 
granted it, only taking occasion to observe that it 
would not be an independent command, as he himself 
would probably make his headquarters in that 
vicinity. Greene accepted, and on October 7th be- 
gan his march up the Hudson with two divisions. 
He set to work to complete the fortifications at 
West Point and place the garrisons in them. But 
he had been at West Point less than a week when 
Washington received from Congress a copy of 
their resolution of October 6th, directing him to 
order a court of inquiry on General Gates for his 
conduct at Camden, and also to appoint a successor 
to Gates. The same messenger brought a letter 
from Mr. Matthews (the same who had been on the 
committee of the previous spring to investigate the 



l6o GENERAL GREENE. 

quartermaster's department), saying that he was 
authorized to communicate the wish of the delegates 
of the three Southern States that Greene should be 
selected for this command. Washington had wanted 
to send Greene there for more than a year, but the 
selection had never before been left to his discretion. 
Now that he had the authority, and especially since 
the choice of the Southern delegates was the same as 
his own, he lost no time in exercising it. On the 
14th he offered the command to Greene in a letter 
full of good wishes, and Greene immediately accepted 
it. As he had been away from home (except for two 
weeks after the Rhode Island expedition of 1778) 
for more than five years, and was now going still 
farther away, he asked for a short leave in order to 
arrange his private affairs; but when Washington ex- 
plained the necessity of his immediate presence in 
the South he withdrew his application. He, however, 
hoped that his wife, who was planning to make him 
a visit, would arrive before he started. But in this 
he was disappointed. She was already on the way, 
but her journey was delayed, and it was not the day 
of telegrams and limited expresses. He felt unable 
to wait longer than the 20th, and on that day, after 
writing a most affectionate farewell to her, he set 
out for Washington's headquarters at Preakness, in 
Bergen County, N. J. Here, on the 22d, he received 
his instructions from Washington, and went on to 
Philadelphia, where, on the 30th, Congress by special 
resolution ratified his appointment, and invested him 
with very extensive powers as commander in chief of 
the Southern army. 



CHAPTER X. 

TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY — 1780. 

For more than five years Greene had been at 
Washington's right hand. He had been in every 
battle in which Washington had commanded, with 
the single exception of White Plains. Washington 
had detached him occasionally, as at Fort Washing- 
ton, Mount Holly, Newport, and Springfield ; but he 
had declined all requests to have him go far away 
or remain long. Greene had become the chief sub- 
ordinate, in whom Washington placed his principal 
reliance. His first object had always been to strive 
to understand Washington's plans and wishes, and 
to support and execute them with all the devotion of 
a thoroughly loyal nature. Washington had grown 
to appreciate fully the merit of such a steadfast sub- 
ordinate, and he had the most complete confidence 
in his judgment and ability. Now this intimate as- 
sociation was to come to an end. Greene was to be 
transferred to a distant theatre, where he was to act 
on his own responsibility. For the greater part of 
the next year Washington was to be inactive ; the 
fighting and marching were to be done under 
Greene's sole command, and his responsibility was 
for the time to be scarcely if at all inferior to that 
of Washington himself. 

In order to explain the condition of affairs at the 



l62 GENERAL GREENE. 

South when Greene took command, it is necessary ^ 
to state as briefly as possible what had taken place ^ 
there previous to his arrival. The war opened at , 
the South with a skirmish between loyalists and '^ 
State militia at Moore's Creek, near Wilmington, * 
N. C, on February 26, 1776, which had the same 
relative importance in that region as the battle of « 
-^ Lexington at the North. The loyalists were de- i* 
feated. At this time two bodies of British troops 9 
were on their way to invade the Carolinas : one <3 
was coming from Boston, and consisted of about ^ 
two thousand regulars under command of Clinton, ^ 
who had come out from England in the previous ^ 
autumn as lieutenant general under Sir William ^ 
Howe; the other was of about equal strength, and ^' 
consisted of seven regiments under Earl Cornwallis. 
It left England under a convoy of ten ships, com- ^' 
manded by Commodore Parker. These two forces "^ 
met at the mouth of the Cape Fear River early in 
May, 1776. But the militia had turned out in such 
large numbers, as a result of the victory at Moore's 
Creek, that Clinton deemed it imprudent to land in 
that vicinity, and he therefore sailed southward, with 
the intention of taking Charleston first and Savan- 
nah next. In attempting to reduce Fort Moultrie, 
in Charleston Harbor, on June 28th, Clinton met with 
defeat. His troops were unable to land, the fleet 
lost over two hundred in killed and wounded, and 
the ships were badly damaged. After making such 
temporary repairs as were possible, the whole expe- 
dition returned to the North, arriving at New York 
in time for the troops of Clinton and Cornwallis to 
take part in the battle of Long Island. 

During the next two years, which were the most 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 163 

active years of the war at the North, nothing was 
done at the South. Then CHnton determined to 
transfer the war again to the South in the hope of 
better success ; and accordingly, in the autumn of 

1778, a part of the garrison of Newport was with- 
drawn, and a force consisting of over three thousand 
troops, under Colonel Campbell, was sent to Savan- 
nah. General Robert Howe then commanded the 
American troops in the South, but he had only about 
twelve hundred men, more than half of whom were 
militia. Campbell made short work of him at Sa- 
vannah, on December 29th — defeated him badly, 
captured all his stores and guns and about half of 
his men, and took possession of the town. He soon 
afterward took Augusta, and all resistance in Georgia 
was for the moment at an end. 

General Benjamin Lincoln was then sent to the 
South to supersede Howe. He arrived at Charles- 
ton at the end of the year, and soon raised a force 
of about two thousand militia and six hundred Con- 
tinentals. The greater part of these were sent under 
General Ashe to threaten Augusta, but in an engage- 
ment which took place at Brier Creek on March 3, 

1779, Ashe was disastrously defeated and most of his 
force dispersed. 

Lincoln, however, succeeded in calling out more 
militia, and began another movement against Augus- 
ta ; whereupon the British marched toward Charles- 
ton, which caused Lincoln to retrace his steps, and 
after considerable marching and a slight skirmish 
each side returned to its former positions — the Brit- 
ish along the line of the Savannah River, with an 
outpost at Beaufort, and the Americans at Charles- 
ton. In September, 1779, the French fleet under 



164 GENERAL GREENE. 

D'Estaing which, during the year since the attack 
on Newport had been cruising in the West Indies, 
appeared off the Southern coast, and a plan was 
made for a combined attack by land and sea on Sa- 
vannah. After a three weeks' siege an assault was 
made on October 9th, but without success. The 
British lost only fifty-five men, and the allies more 
than one thousand, Pulaski being among the killed. 
D'Estaing then sailed off to France with the greater 
part of his fleet, sending the rest to the West Indies. 
As soon as Clinton at New York heard of this 
affair, he thought the time had come for a decisive 
blow at the South. He therefore withdrew the bal- 
ance of the garrison from Newport, and adding to 
them a part of the troops in and around New York, 
he formed a force of eight thousand men, and with 
these he sailed in person for Savannah in December, 
1779, taking Cornwallis with him. He immediately 
sent orders for Lord Rawdon to follow him with three 
thousand more men from New York, so that when all 
the troops brought from New York were joined to 
those already in the South, Clinton had between 
thirteen thousand and fourteen thousand men. At 
the same time Washington was hurrying forward re- 
enforcements to Lincoln, but it was impossible to 
increase his force much beyond seven thousand men, 
Clinton started from Savannah in February to cap- 
ture Charleston. After a siege of over two months, 
on May 12th, Lincoln surrendered with his entire 
army of over two thousand Continentals and three 
thousand five hundred militia. Clinton then left 
Cornwallis in command at the South with about five 
thousand men, and returned to New York with the 
rest of his force, arriving there, as we have seen, 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 165 

just before the engagement at Springfield, in June, 
1780. 

While the siege of Charleston was in progress 
Washington had sent a re-enforcement of two thou- 
sand men under De Kalb to Lincoln's assistance, 
but they had gone no farther than North Carolina 
when Charleston fell. On receipt of this news. Con- 
gress, without consulting Washington, selected Gates, 
on June 13th, to take command in the South. He 
overtook De Kalb at Hillsborough, N. C, on July 
19th. In the meantime Cornwallis had sent Raw- 
don to overrun the interior of South Carolina and 
raise a Tory militia. Rawdon was now at Camden, 
S. C, a meeting-point of several important roads, 
about one hundred and twenty miles north of Charles- 
ton and forty miles south of the North Carolina 
line. Gates began his march for this point on July 
27th, and Cornwallis left Charleston for the same 
place about the same time. Gates arrived first, but 
he lost the favorable moment for attacking Rawdon 
before Cornwallis arrived. Gates had about three 
thousand men, of whom half were militia, and Corn- 
wallis had about two thousand, including Rawdon's 
detachment, three fourths of whom were trained 
soldiers. On the i6th of August the battle was 
fought at Camden. Gates was ignominiously de- 
feated, and fled back to Hillsborough, one hundred 
and sixty miles in rear ; Baron De Kalb was killed, 
gallantly fighting to the last ; the army was practi- 
cally annihilated. 

The British had thus in four months more than 
made up at the South what they had lost at the 
North during the two years between Long Island 
and Newport. Against the surrender of Burgoyne 



1 66 GENERAL GREENE. 

they had matched the capture of Lincoln, and they 
had offset the retreat from Pennsylvania and Jersey 

% by the subjugation of the two Carolinas and Georgia, 

*— and the destruction of Gates's army. 

Such was the situation when Greene was sent to 
the South, not so much to take command as to create 
an army. Within nine months from the time he ar- 
rived he had reconquered Georgia and the Carolinas 
with the exception of Charleston and Savannah, and, 
though defeated in several engagements, he had 
manoeuvred Cornwallis into Virginia, where Wash- 
ington with extraordinary rapidity fell upon him 
with the French army and what was left of the Con- 
tinentals. Almost at the same instant Greene de- 
feated the remnant of the British army in South 
Carolina at Eutaw Springs, and drove it into Charles- 
ton. These two events practically put an end to the 
war, although the treaty of peace was not finally 
signed until two years later. 

Greene reached Washington's headquarters at 
Preakness, N. J., on October 22d, and there Wash- 
ington gave him his instructions for the command 
of the Southern army. They were meager enough. 
" Uninformed as I am of the enemy's force in that 
quarter, of our own, or of the resources which it will 
be in our power to command for carrying on the war, 
I can give you no particular instructions, but must 
leave you to govern yourself entirely according to 
your own prudence and judgment and the circum- 
stances in which you find yourself. I am aware that 
the nature of the command will offer you embarrass- 
ments of a singular and complicated nature, but I 
rely upon your abilities and exertions for everything 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 167 

your means will enable you to effect." More spe- 
cific instructions were given him in regard to the 
inquiry he was to make into the conduct of Gates. 

With these instructions and a letter to Congress, 
and flattering letters of introduction to the Gov- 
ernors of the Southern States, Greene rode on to 
Philadelphia. On the 27th of October he presented 
Washington's letter to Congress, adding one of his 
own, in which he says that it will be "my pride and 
ambition to merit the approbation of Congress, and 
I flatter myself that they will be charitably disposed 
to make just allowance for the peculiar difficulties I 
will have to contend with. ... I am conscious of 
my deficiencies, but if I am clothed with proper 
powers and receive the necessary support, I am not 
altogether without hopes of prescribing some bounds 
to the ravages of the enemy. ... At present I am 
wholly unacquainted with the intentions of Congress 
with respect to the plan and extent of the war they 
mean to prosecute in the Southern Department, as 
well as the number and condition of the troops they 
mean to employ, or the States in which they are to 
be levied. I am uninformed how they are to be 
paid, fed, and clothed, through what channels the 
quartermaster general's j ordnance and hospital de- 
partments are to be supplied. I must request the 
orders and information of Congress upon all these 
points, and I will endeavor to make the most of the 
means put into my hands." This letter was referred 
to a committee of which his old friend Sullivan, now 
a member of Congress, was at the head; and two 
days later Greene wrote more specifically to this 
committee, giving estimates of articles required for 
the various departments of his army. 



l68 GENERAL GREENE. 

It was but little more than three months since 
Congress, in a rage, had discussed the idea of sum- 
marily dismissing Greene from the army ; but now 
he was very kindly received. On the 30th of Octo- 
ber they passed a series of resolutions, approving 
his appointment, directing Steuben to accompany 
him, specifying that his army was to consist of all 
the regular troops raised or to be raised in the six 
States from Delaware to Georgia inclusive, authoriz- 
ing him to call on the Legislatures and executives of 
these States for " men, clothing, money, arms, in- 
trenching tools, provisions, and other aids and sup- 
plies," and requesting these States to furnish them ; 
and directing the heads of the staff departments to 
furnish him such articles as he could not obtain in 
the South. All the powers granted to Gates in June 
in reference to the appointment of officers and call- 
ing out the militia, were transferred to him, and to 
these was added the power to effect exchanges of 
prisoners. He was to " organize and employ the 
army under his command in the manner he shall 
judge most proper, subject to the control of the 
commander in chief." As his field of operations was 
over eight hundred miles from the latter's head- 
quarters, and there were no means of communication 
except by horses, this control was almost nominal. 
In short, the entire military resources, such as they 
were, of six of the thirteen States were placed at his 
disposal ; and with them he was to raise and equip 
an army and fight the enemy in whatever way he 
deemed best. 

It is significant of the esteem in which Greene 
was held by his companions in arms that so many of 
the best men in the army sought the opportunity to 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 169 

accompany him. Lafayette, Steuben, John Laurens, 
Henry Lee, and Dr. McHenry, afterward Secretary 
of War, all applied to be ordered with him. La- 
fayette in particular wrote him the most affectionate 
and flattering letters, asking " to have my fate united 
with yours." For various reasons these requests 
could not be granted, except in the cases of Steuben 
and Lee. Steuben was sent with him to organize 
and discipline the Southern army, as he had drilled 
the main army at Valley Forge three years before ; 
and " Light Horse Harry," the famous father of his 
still more famous son, Robert E. Lee, was sent to a 
field where his talents as a cavalry leader would find 
full scope. On his arrival at the South Greene 
found the most distinguished lot of partisan chiefs 
•which the war produced — Marion, Morgan, Sumter, 
Pickens, and William Washington. He gave them 
every opportunity to display their abilities, and never 
did they achieve as much as during the six months 
after his arrival ; so that what the army lacked in 
men and resources it partially made up in the superb 
character of its chiefs. 

Greene passed a short but busy week in Philadel- 
phia, trying to get arms from President Reed, of 
Pennsylvania, clothing from Southern merchants, 
and wagons from the quartermaster general. Then 
leaving Colonel Feibiger with minute instructions 
for forwarding supplies, and writing a last word to 
Washington asking him to urge his wants unceas- 
ingly on Congress, so that they would not be for- 
gotten the moment he was gone, he set out for his 
command on November 3d, in company with his two 
aids and Steuben and the latter's genial secretary, 
Duponceau. His first stop was at Annapolis, where 



170 



GENERAL GREENE. 



he arrived on the 7th. The Legislature was in session, 
and he appeared before them in person, and also ad- 
dressed them in writing, stating his wants and urging 
the formation of a regular army, by means of a draft 
if necessary. But he received little encouragement, 
the Legislature having " neither money nor credit, and, 
from the temper of the people, afraid to push matters 
to extremity." From Annapolis he also wrote to the 
Governor of Delaware, and appointed General Gist 
to present his requisitions in person, urge them upon 
the State, and forward all supplies that he could 
collect. From. Annapolis he continued his journey 
southward, passing the afternoon and night of the 
12th at Mount Vernon, whence Mrs. Washington 
was just starting to pass the winter, as usual, with her 
husband. Both Steuben and himself were delighted 
with the place and charmed with the reception they 
met. Greene wrote to Washington : " I don't won- 
der that you languish so often to return to the pleas- 
ures of domestic life. Nothing but the glory of 
being commander in chief, and the happiness of 
being universally admired, could compensate for such 
a sacrifice as you make." Thence he went on to 
Fredericksburg, stopping at the home of his former 
brigade commander, Weedon, who had fought so 
gallantly with him at the Brandywine three years 
before, and who was now absent m command of a 
detachment of militia. On the i6th he arrived at 
Richmond, and immediately entered into a long dis- 
cussion of the situation with Thomas Jefferson, who 
was then Governor 

The ideas of Greene and Jefferson on military 
matters were naturally wide apart, and Greene there- 
fore had once more to plead the same arguments in 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 171 

favor of a regular force that he had used so often 
during the last five years. No one appreciated more 
fully than Greene the value of the militia in its 
proper place ; but he well knew that it was not the 
proper instrument with which to carry on a long 
war against the best troops of Europe. But though 
Jefferson failed to see the deficiencies of the militia, 
he did everything in his power to provide supplies 
of clothing and wagons; he met with only indiffer- 
ent success, however, because the State was without 
financial resources, and the people were growing 
tired of the war. 

The arrival of General Leslie and his force from 
New York * had spread considerable alarm through- 
out the State, and the militia had been called out and 
placed under the orders of Muhlenberg andWeedon, 
who had commanded the brigades in Greene's di- 
vision in the campaign of 1777. Greene decided to 
leave Steuben in Virginia, with instructions to or- 
ganize and command this force, to send on such 
portion of it as could be spared, to collect and 
forward supplies, and to keep open his communica- 
tions with the North. After remaining six days in 
Richmond to arrange these matters, Greene con- 
tinued his journey on the 21st of November, and on 
December 2d arrived at Gates's headquarters, near 
Charlotte, N. C. 

Gates had been his enemy throughout the war. 
As Fiske well says : " In every campaign since the 
beginning of the war Greene had been Washing- 
ton's right arm; and for indefatigable industry, for 
strength and breadth of intelligence, and for un- 

* See p. 182. 



1/2 



GENERAL GREENE. 



selfish devotion to the public service, he was scarcely 
inferior to the commander in chief." Greene being 
Washington's most trusted subordinate, Gates had 
intrigued against him on every possible occasion. 
Now Greene's hour of revenge had come ; but he 
treated his rival with a magnanimity which made 
him his warm friend for the rest of his life. He 
came with orders not only to supersede Gates in 
command, but to put him on trial for his conduct at 
Camden. Yet his first act was to issue an order in 
which he " returns thanks to the honorable Major- 
General Gates for the polite manner in which he has 
introduced him to his command in the orders of 
yesterday, and for his good wishes for the success of 
the Southern army." The general officers necessary 
for Gates's trial could not be spared at this time, and 
Greene therefore postponed summoning the court; 
and as he studied the matter he came to the con- 
clusion that Gates was the victim of misfortune 
rather than fault. He therefore reported to Wash- 
ington that a council of war was of opinion that the 
court of inquiry could not be assembled without 
manifest injury to the service ; he allowed Gates to 
proceed to Philadelphia and report to Congress and 
the commander in chief for orders; and he wrote to 
members of Congress expressing the opinion that no 
trial was necessary. None was ever held, and in 
August, 1782, Congress rescinded the resolution 
ordering an inquiry into Gates's conduct, and re- 
stored him to a command in the army under Wash- 
ington at Newburg. 

On assuming command of his army, Greene im- 
mediately called for returns, and from these he 
learned that its strength on paper was twenty-three 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 



173 



hundred and seven, of whom fourteen hundred and 
eighty-two were present, and the whole number " fit 
for duty, properly clothed and properly equipped, did 
not amount to eight hundred men ! " The rest, as he 
wrote to Jefferson, and also to Washington, were 
" literally naked, . . . starving with cold and hunger, 
without tents and equipage." 

As already stated, his army was to be made up of 
the Continental troops of the six States from Dela- 
ware to Georgia, and of such militia as he could 
raise in these States. By resolution of October 3, 
1780, Congress had directed that the regular army, 
from and after January i, 1781, should consist of 
four regiments of cavalry, four regiments of artillery, 
forty-nine regiments of infantry, and one regiment 
of artificers. Some slight changes in the proposed 
organization were made at Washington's suggestion, 
and, as finally agreed upon and ordered by resolu- 
tion of October 21st, each infantry regiment was to 
consist of nine companies, and its strength was to 
be thirty-six officers, forty-seven noncommissioned 
officers, twenty-two musicians, and six hundred and 
twelve rank and file. The quota of the six Southern 
States was as follows : 

Delaware I regiment of infantry. 

Maryland 5 regiments of infantry. 

Virginia 8 regiments of infantry, i of artillery, and 2 of 

cavalry. 

North Carolina. . 4 regiments of infantry. 

South Carolina . . 2 regiments of infantry. 

Georgia i regiment of infantry. 

Total 21 regiments of infantry, I of artillery, and 2 of 

cavalry. 

Or a total force of about fifteen thousand men. 



174 



GENERAL GREENE. 



But all this was on paper. It was even more true 
now than when Washington said it four years before, 
that " there is a material difference between voting 
battalions and raising men." Washington had about 
seven thousand men in the Northern army, and 
Greene had two thousand at the South ; the rest of 
the forty thousand men called for by the resolutions 
of Congress did not exist. The regiments of South 
Carolina and Georgia had never been raised, and 
nearly all the regiments of Virginia and North Caro- 
lina had been made prisoners at the fall of Charles- 
ton. The regiments of Delaware and Maryland had 
marched from New Jersey to North Carolina, under 
De Kalb, in the spring of 1780. They had formed 
the Continental portion of Gates's army, and had 
been in the disaster at Camden. What was left of 
them constituted the eight hundred men fit for duty 
when Greene took command. 

The so-called Southern army, as Greene wrote to 
Knox, was "rather a shadow than a substance, hav- 
ing only an imaginary existence." It was not only 
deficient in numbers, but lacking in organization, 
discipline, equipment, supplies, and everything that 
constitutes an efficient force. The men had little or 
no clothing, there were no wagons or other means of 
transportation, there was but little ammunition, there 
was no organized medical department, and there was 
no ready money to purchase supplies; the men were 
dispirited by defeat, and they were in the habit of 
going home when they felt so inclined and returning 
at their pleasure. The outlook was in the last de- 
gree discouraging. 

Nevertheless Greene was hopeful, and he imme- 
diately set to work to introduce some degree of order. 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY, lye 

His first step was to put a stop to men absenting 
themselves without leave. A deserter was tried, 
convicted, and hanged in the presence of the entire 
force. He next put Lieutenant-Colonel Carrington 
in charge of the quartermaster's department, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Davie in charge of the commissa- 
riat — both excellent appointments. Though their re- 
sources were slender, yet they soon contrived to keep 
the army so far supplied that it was able to move. 
Greene kept up an incessant correspondence with his 
representatives in Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsyl- 
vania, urging them to forward men and supplies. 
He made arrangements for collecting a supply of 
boats to transport his stores up and down the rivers, 
and for another lot of boats to form an improvised 
pontoon train, which was of the greatest value a few 
months later in his rapid marches across the numer- 
ous rivers which run from the Alleghanies through 
the Carolinas to the sea. His army was so destitute 
of everything, that he was compelled in his corre- 
spondence to specify the urgent necessity of such 
minor articles as boards, nails, and horseshoes. 
Governor Rutledge, of South Carolina, came to 
Greene's camp and passed some time with him, con- 
sulting how his State could render assistance. He 
could do but little, as the State was completely occu- 
pied by British troops, and the Legislature could not 
convene. But the Legislature of North Carolina was 
in session, and Colonel Davie was sent to Governor 
Nash with letters explaining fully the needs of the 
patriot army. 

The situation of the troops at Charlotte did not 
meet Greene's approval, as the surrounding country 
was destitute of supplies; he therefore sent his 



176 GENERAL GREENE, 

engineer, Kosciusko, to reconnoiter down the Pedee 
River and find a more eligible situation. He also 
opened correspondence with the partisan chiefs 
Marion, Pickens, and Sumter, with a view to bringing 
their operations under his control. As soon as Kos- 
ciusko made his report, and within two weeks of his 
arrival, Greene issued his orders for moving to his 
new camp at Cheravv, and, although the movement 
was delayed by rains, he arrived there before the 
end of the month. Meanwhile Steuben had been 
doing everything possible in Virginia to forward 
men to re-enforce Greene, but the first detachment 
he intended to send refused to leave Virginia, and 
they were discharged. Steuben succeeded, however, 
in getting together another detachment numbering 
four hundred and fifty-six men, enlisted for eighteen 
months, and they were started forward on December 
14th. They arrived at the camp at Cheraw before 
the end of the month ; and two weeks later Lee ar- 
rived with his legion, consisting of a little more than 
three hundred picked men, partly cavalry and partly 
infantry, in fine order. The arrival of these re-en- 
forcements brought Greene's army up to about three 
thousand men, of whom perhaps two thirds were fit 
for service. In addition to these were the irregular, 
partisan troops of Marion, Pickens, and Sumter. It 
is impossible to give any accurate statement of their 
numbers, which varied from day to day. They were, 
in fact, what has been denominated in recent years 
under the more offensive term of guerrillas — farmers 
one day and soldiers the next. Their principal 
chiefs were commissioned as officers of militia and 
authorized to raise as many men as they could, but 
further than this they had no regular organization. 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 



177 



Marion operated in the eastern part of the State, in 
the swamps between the Pedee and Santee Rivers; 
Pickens in the western part, between Ninety-Six and 
Augusta ; and Sumter in the northwestern part, along 
the Broad River and its branches. Having no regu- 
lar cavalry except the small body in Lee's legion, 
Greene designed to use these partisan troops, so far 
as he could control their actions, to gain informa- 
tion of the enemy's movements and to threaten and 
harass their posts. The numbers of the three bodies 
aggregated between five hundred and one thousand 
men at different periods. In all, Greene had thus 
between thirty-five hundred and four thousand men 
at the opening of the campaign. 

Opposed to Greene, in command of the British 
army in the South, was Lieutenant-General Earl 
Cornwallis, in many respects the best soldier that 
England sent to America. He came out in 1775, and 
served continuously for over six years, returning 
home a few months after his surrender at Yorktown. 
He subsequently attained great distinction during 
the seven years of his administration as Governor 
General of India, and three years as Lord Lieutenant 
of Ireland. He was four years older than Greene, 
and was now just forty-two years of age. He had 
been opposed to Greene in all the campaigns in New 
York, the Jerseys, and Pennsylvania, and had learned 
to respect him thoroughly. In the Jerseys Corn- 
wallis had written : " Greene is as dangerous as 
Washington ; he is vigilant, enterprising, and full of 
resources. With but little hope of gaining an advan- 
tage over him, I never feel secure when encamped 
in his neighborhood." 

Next in command to Cornwallis was Lord Raw- 



178 GENERAL GREENE. 

don, who also in after-life, as Earl of Moira and 
Marquis of Hastings, was a famous governor general 
of India. He was now only twenty-six years of age, 
but he had had five years of unbroken service in 
America, beginning at Boston as a captain in the 
Sixty-third Foot. He had greatly distinguished him- 
self at Monmouth, and in the following autumn had 
raised a regiment of provincials in New York, known 
as the "Volunteers of Ireland," and had been com- 
missioned as colonel. With these and a considerable 
body of British and Hessian troops he had followed 
Clinton to Charleston, arriving there April i8th. 

The third officer of importance on the British side 
was Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, who also was a 
youngster of twenty-six. He had come out as a 
major of dragoons under Cornwallis, in the spring 
of 1776, and had been continuously in active service 
ever since. He now commanded a force known as 
the "British Legion," numbering about four hundred 
and fifty men, and consisting, like Lee's Legion, of 
infantry and cavalry. His memoirs are full of 
vanity and egotism, but he possessed all the charac- 
teristics of a splendid partisan leader. 

According to the returns in the British Record 
Office, the effective force under Cornwallis's com- 
mand in December, 1780, numbered 7,384 in South 
Carolina, 968 in Georgia, and 2,274 on their way 
from Virginia to Charleston, under command of 
General Leslie, making a total of 10,622. This 
force consisted of two regiments of the Guards, the 
Seventh, Sixteenth, Twenty-third, Thirty-third, Sixty- 
third, Sixty-fourth, and Seventy-first (two battalions) 
Regiments of the line, the British Legion, the Hes- 
sian Yagers, and the regiment of Bose, a large de- 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY, i^q 

tachment of royal artillery, the Volunteers of Ireland, 
De Lancey's and Cruger's battalions of New York 
Loyalists, and several battalions of Tory militia 
from North and South Carolina and Georgia. 

On one side, therefore, was a force of regular 
troops, small in numbers, but composed of the best 
material in the British army, well trained, disciplined, 
and equipped, and supplied with everything that an 
ample military chest could purchase. Supporting 
these was a numerous body of Tory militia. On the 
other side was a force still smaller in numbers, com- 
posed principally of militia, deficient in every requi- 
site of a well-equipped force, without money, and 
living on the country as best they could. On both 
sides were officers of the highest class — Greene, 
Morgan, and Lee on one side, and Cornwallis, Ravv- 
ddn, and Tarleton on the other. The numbers were 
small, but the field of operations was immense, the 
marches prodigious, the manoeuvring incessant. The 
game was played with the greatest skill on both 
sides, and no campaign in American history has illus- 
trated the art of war in its highest branches more 
fully than the campaign of 1781. 

When Clinton went North, in June, 1780, after the 
capture of Charleston, the instructions he gave Corn- 
wallis were to march into the interior of South Caro- 
lina, capture the province, and then move north 
through North Carolina. He was to put down the 
Revolution and re-establish the King's authority in 
these two provinces ; and when this was done he 
was to assist in a projected expedition up the Chesa- 
peake against Baltimore. 

In pursuance of this plan, Cornwallis overran the 
State soon after the fall of Charleston, and in the 



l80 GENERAL GREENE. 

month of June established a circular line of posts 
on its western and northern borders, as follows : At 
Augusta, on the Savannah River, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Brown, with a detachment of militia; at a small set- 
tlement called Ninety-Six, Lieutenant-Colonel Bal- 
four, with the Sixteenth Foot, three light companies 
and three battalions of provincials ; at Rocky Mount, 
on the Catawba, Lieutenant-Colonel Turnbull, with a 
regiment of New York provincials and some South 
Carolina militia ; at Camden, Lord Rawdon, with the 
Twenty-third and Thirty-third Regiments, the Vol- 
unteers of Ireland, Tarleton's Legion, a detachment 
of artillery, and two regiments of militia ; at the 
Cheraws, on the Great Pedee River, south of the 
North Carolina line. Major McArthur, with the Sev- 
enty-first Regiment. There was a large garrison in 
Charleston, consisting of the Seventh, Sixty-third, 
and Sixty-fourth Regiments, two battalions of Hes- 
sians, and a detachment of artillery; and there were 
smaller garrisons on each flank at Georgetown and 
Savannah. 

Having thus occupied the State with his troops, 
Cornwallis returned to Charleston to put the civil 
machinery in running order, and this occupied the 
entire summer. There were no military movements 
except the skirmishes with the partisan corps of 
Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, until the advance of 
Gates's army toward Camden, in August. Corn- 
wallis came up from Charleston to meet him, and 
arrived just in time to take command in the battle 
which ensued, but after defeating Gates he did not 
pursue him; he returned to Charleston to complete 
the establishment of the civil government. 

By the middle of September Cornwallis was ready 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY, jgi 

to begin the advance into North Carolina, and he 
again came up to Camden, bringing with him the 
Seventh Regiment, and drawing in the Seventy-first 
from the Cheraws; otherwise the "frontier" posts 
were not disturbed. Joining these two regiments 
to the force under Rawdon at Camden, Cornwallis 
marched across the State line and took possession of 
Charlotte. His reception was far from what he an- 
ticipated. Mecklenburg County was a hotbed of pa- 
triots; he found it difficult to collect supplies for his 
troops, and the raising of a Tory militia in this vicin- 
ity was out of the question. 

Early in October a serious disaster overtook 
Cornwallis in the loss of one of his largest detach- 
ments. The communications between Ninety-Six, 
Rocky Mount, and Camden were kept up by a corps 
of light infantry and some militia, under command 
of Major Ferguson, of the Seventy-first Regiment. 
During the latter part of September seven American 
colonels, each with his band or corps of one hundred 
and fifty to two hundred men, mountaineers, back- 
woodsmen, and frontiersmen, well mounted on their 
own horses, and armed with hunting rifles and such 
swords as they could make out of domestic tools, 
assembled on the western border of South Carolina 
for the purpose of attacking Ferguson. They over- 
took him at King's Mountain on October 7th and 
annihilated his force. Ferguson and two hundred 
and twenty-five of his men were killed, one hundred 
and sixty-three were wounded, and the rest (about 
seven hundred and twenty) were made prisoners. 

This was the first turn of the tide in favor of the 
Americans at the South. For two years the current 
had been strong against them, but now began a 



1 82 GENERAL GREENE. 

change. Cornwallis retreated from Charlotte as 
soon as he heard of the disaster, somewhat precipi- 
tately, abandoning part of his baggage. He estab- 
lished his camp at Winnsborough, in rear of the cen- 
ter of his line of posts. Gates advanced to and 
occupied Charlotte. 

In the meantime the news of the British victory 
at Camden had reached Clinton at New York, and, 
supposing everything ready for Cornwallis's ad- 
vance northward, he detached twenty-three hundred 
men under General Leslie and sent them to enter 
Virginia at the mouth of the James River, and then 
advance to meet Cornwallis on his way north, or 
make such other movements as Cornwallis might 
direct. Their arrival caused great excitement in 
Virginia. The militia were called out, and Steuben 
was left at Richmond when Greene passed through, 
in November, on his way South to take command of 
all the troops in the State and prevent Leslie from 
cutting Greene's communications with the North, 
But Cornwallis, as soon as he heard of Leslie's ar- 
rival in Virginia, sent orders to him to re-embark 
and come to Charleston. On arriving there, on De- 
cember 13th, he found orders to join Cornwallis with 
a part of his force. Lack of wagons and horses pre- 
vented him from starting until December 30th. On 
that day he began his march with two battalions of 
Guards, the regiment of Bose, one hundred and 
twenty Yagers, and a detachment of light dragoons 
— in all, fifteen hundred and thirty men. 

With the arrival of Leslie's force Cornwallis had 
more than ten thousand men under his command, and, 
without disturbing the large garrison in Charleston 
or the numerous posts on the " frontier," he intended 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 



183 



to form a marching army of about four thousand 
men and resume his long-contemplated march into 
North Carolina, which had been postponed from 
various causes for more than six months, and had 
then been interrupted by the defeat at King's Moun- 
tain and the retreat from Charlotte to Winnsborough. 
But his plans were disarranged by Greene, who 
boldly took the initiative. On arriving at Charlotte, 
Greene found that Gates had contemplated going 
into winter quarters. But Greene had no such plans. 
He intended to open a vigorous campaign just as 
quickly as he could get his troops in hand. But, in 
view of the disorganized condition of his army, he 
thought that at first he could do nothing more than 
organize a partisan warfare. Just before leaving 
Philadelphia he had written to Washington, October 
31st: " My first object will be to equip a flying army, 
to consist of about eight hundred horse and one thou- 
sand infantry. This force, with the occasional aid of 
the militia, will serve to confine the enemy in their 
limits, and render it difficult for them to subsist in 
the interior county. I see but little prospect of get- 
ting a force to contend with the enemy upon equal 
grounds, and therefore must make the most of a kind 
of partisan war until we can levy and equip a larger 
force." With this idea in mind, immediately after 
taking command, he resolved to divide his army, 
small as it was, into two bodies, and on December 
i6th he issued the necessary orders. The first de- 
tachment, consisting of three hundred and twenty 
infantry of the Maryland line, two hundred Virginia 
militia, and Colonel William Washington's regiment 
of light horse, numbering less than one hundred 
men, was placed under Morgan's command. He was 



1 84 GENERAL GREENE. 

directed to cross the Catawba River, where he would 
be joined by the partisan corps of Davidson and 
Sumter. Morgan was instructed to use these forces, 
and any that might join him from Georgia, against 
the enemy on the west side of the Gatawba, either 
offensively or defensively, as he might deem best. 
" The object of this detachment is to give protection 
to that part of the country and spirit up the people, 
to annoy the enemy in that quarter, to collect the pro- 
visions and forage out of their way." The second 
detachment, consisting of the rest of the army, was 
placed under command of General Huger, and di- 
rected to move down the Pedee River to the camp 
which Kosciusko had selected at the mouth of Hick's 
Creek, near the Cheraw hills. Greene accompanied 
the main body. 

Greene was probably well aware, from his study 
of Turenne, of the military maxim against dividing a 
force and exposing it to the risk of being beaten in 
detail ; but he seems to have felt that in the present 
instance there were imperative reasons which justified 
the risk. He knew that Cornwallis designed to march 
into North Carolina with his main body, leaving in- 
tact the garrisons in his numerous posts, and his only 
chance of delaying Cornwallis's advance while he was 
collecting his own army was in threatening these 
posts. By sending Morgan beyond the Broad River 
he threatened the important post of Ninety-Six, and 
by advancing down the Pedee with Huger he made a 
feint against Camden, and even against Charleston. 
He also placed Huger in support of Marion, who was 
raiding the country between the Pedee and Santee 
rivers. As he expressed it, in a letter written on 
January 24th to his old friend Varnum, now a mem- 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 185 

ber of Congress : " I am well satisfied with the move- 
ment. ... It makes the most of my inferior force, 
for it compels my adversary to divide his, and holds 
him in doubt as to his own line of conduct. He can 
not leave Morgan behind him to come at me, or his 
posts at Ninety-Six and Augusta would be exposed; 
and he can not chase Morgan far or prosecute his 
views upon Virginia while I am here with the whole 
open country before me." While he threatened 
Charleston, however, he had no intention of really 
marching in that direction, for he fully explained 
how necessary it was for him to keep near the head 
waters of the streams where they could be easily 
crossed, and where the broken nature of the country 
would enable his inferior force to make a stand. 
Lower down, where the rivers were deep and the 
country open, he would have no chance against 
Cornwallis's superiority of force. But in order still 
further to disconcert Cornwallis, he made his feint 
against the posts on the seacoast as effective as pos- 
sible, and as soon as Lee arrived with his legion he 
sent him to re-enforce Marion and try to capture 
Georgetown by a sudden dash. He even contem- 
plated sending them, after making this attempt, en- 
tirely around the rear of Cornwallis to rejoin Morgan 
on the Broad River. The attempt against George- 
town failed, but the general result of the division of 
his force was just what Greene had desired. It ar- 
rested Cornwallis's march into North Carolina for 
nearly a month, and caused him to divide his own 
force. He could not go forward, leaving Morgan on 
his flank. He therefore detached Tarleton with the 
legion, the Seventh Regiment, one battalion of the 
Seventy-first, and two pieces of artillery — in all about 
13 



l86 GENERAL GREENE. 

eleven hundred men — and directed him to cross the 
Broad River and "push Morgan to the utmost." 
These instructions were sent to Tarleton on January 
2d, and in the same letter Cornwallis asked Tarleton 
whether he thought that the moving of the whole or 
any part of the main body could be of use. At the 
same time he directed Leslie, instead of taking the 
direct route up the Congaree to Winnsborough, to 
follow the Wateree to Camden, so as to be prepared 
to meet any movements that Greene might make in 
that direction. 

Greene's action in dividing his little force and 
threatening both of Cornwallis's flanks thus seemed 
to be fully justified, for it caused Cornwallis to di- 
vide his force into three bodies, and left him in great 
uncertainty how to act. Tarleton, however, promptly 
suggested a plan of campaign in response to Corn- 
wallis's letter of the 2d. He proposed that he him- 
self should move well to the west and then drive 
Morgan back on King's Mountain, while Cornwallis 
advanced with the main body to that point in order 
to strike Morgan in flank or rear on his anticipated 
retreat. Cornwallis adopted these suggestions, and 
on January 5th he wrote Tarleton in reply: "You 
have exactly done what I wished you to do, and under- 
stood my intentions perfectly." Cornwallis himself 
began his march on the 7th, but he moved very 
slowly, being still anxious as to what Greene might 
do against Camden, and waiting for Leslie to join 
him. In this way eleven days went by without 
finding Cornwallis farther advanced than Turkey 
Creek, only thirty miles from Winnsborough and 
about twenty-five miles south of King's Mountain. 
In the meantime the battle of the Cowpens had been 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 187 

fought, with disastrous results to Tarleton. Corn- 
wallis thus lost his only chance of complete success, 
which was to crush Morgan with his entire force 
before Greene could come to his assistance, and then 
throw himself quickly across the line of Greene's 
communications with Virginia. 

Tarleton received his instructions on January 2d, 
promptly crossed the lower part of the Broad River, 
ascertained that Ninety-Six was in no immediate 
danger, and reported the facts to Cornwallis as we 
have seen. On receiving his reply approving his 
plans, he marched against Morgan, and after some 
manoeuvring came up with him on the morning of 
January 17th. Morgan's force was now increased 
by the arrival of militia to about nine hundred and 
fifty men. His only trained troops were two weak 
battalions of the Maryland line, Washington's cavalry, 
and some Virginia militia, who had served their terra 
of three years in the Continental line. Three fifths 
of his force was composed of militia from the two 
Carolinas and Georgia. He posted this force on the 
line between North and South Carolina, in the vicinity 
of one of the inclosures then common in that section 
of the country where cattle were driven in winter, 
known as Cowpens. He was in an open piece of 
woods, with the Broad River at his back, and with- 
out any protection on either flank. A better place 
for the British regulars to attack, and a worse place 
for ordinary troops to defend, could not be imagined. 
But Morgan had seen long service with the militia; 
he thoroughly understood their good and bad points, 
and he knew what he was about. He afterward 
justified his selection of the position, and said that 
he did not want any protection on his flanks, for he 



1 88 GENERAL GREENE. 

knew his adversary well and was satisfied he would 
have nothing but hard fighting. As for resting his 
flanks on a swamp : " I would not have had a swamp 
in the view of my militia on any consideration ; they 
would have made for it, and nothing could have de- 
tained them from it " ; and as for a river at his back, 
it was what he wanted to keep the militia from going 
away, and make them fight. " Had I crossed the 
river," said Morgan, "one half of the militia would 
have abandoned me." 

He disposed his force in three lines, about one 
hundred and forty yards apart : first, a line of 
skirmishers taken from the militia; next, the militia 
from the adjoining States; and last, the Maryland 
line and the Virginia veterans. Washington's cavalry 
was posted as a reserve in rear, under cover of a 
slight emincHce. Morgan had gone about among 
his men the evening before the battle, talking freely 
with them and telling them what they were expected 
to do. Then they had a quiet night's sleep, and a 
good breakfast in the morning. The formation was 
completed soon after sunrise, and the two lines of 
militia were instructed to fire two rounds carefully 
aimed and then retire, but not to run or take fright. 

On the previous day Tarleton had learned by his 
scouts, and a prisoner whom they had taken, that he 
was in close proximity to Morgan. He therefore 
called up his troops at three o'clock in the morning 
and marched rapidly to attack Morgan before he 
should cross the river. At sunrise he came in sight 
of Morgan, who was posting his troops in their 
positions. Tarleton at once deployed his force: the 
Seventh Regiment, the Legion infantry, and the light 
infantry in a single line, with the two field pieces in 



TAKES COMMAND OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 



189 



the intervals; a company of dragoons was on each 
flank, and the rest of his cavalry, two hundred strong, 
and the battalion of the Seventy-first Regiment, 
formed the reserve, posted one hundred yards in 
rear of his left flank. As soon as the deployment 
was complete, Tarleton ordered his main line to 
advance on the militia skirmishers, two hundred 
yards away, and the advance was promptly and 
impetuously made. The militia waited until they 
were within fifty yards, fired their two rounds with 
the most careful and deliberate aim, and then retired 
around the left flank in accordance with their orders. 
The British were staggered by this reception, in 
which they lost heavily in officers ; but as the militia 
retired they again pressed on until they came up 
with the Maryland line under Colonel Howard. 
Then a stubborn fight ensued for about thirty 
minutes, but they could make no progress. Tarle- 
ton thereupon brought up his reserve and threw it 
upon the right flank of the Continental line. But 
Morgan executed a change of front with the Virginia 
veterans, refusing his right flank, and this attack 
was brought to a standstill. Washington's cavalry 
was then brought up and charged Tarleton's right 
flank, causing it to retreat, and soon afterward 
Tarleton's cavalry, on the opposite flank, broke and 
ran. The panic was soon taken up by his infantry, 
which lay down its arms and surrendered, and nothing 
was left of the British but the detachment of Royal 
Artillery, who stood gallantly by their guns until 
every man was killed or wounded and the two guns 
captured. 

Morgan's victory was as complete as it was 
brilliant. With a loss of only eleven killed and six- 



1 90 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ty-one wounded, he had practically removed Tarle- 
ton's force from the list of combatants. Corn- 
wallis's returns of " rank and file, present and fit for 
duty," in the regiments which fought at the Cow- 
pens, under the respective dates of January 15th and 
February ist, are as follows: 



Seventh Regiment 

Seventy-first Regiment, First Battalion.. 
Sixteenth Regiment, three companies. . . 
Seventy-first Regiment, Light Company, 
British Legion 

Total 



Jan. 15th. 



977 



Feb. ist. 



167 


.... 


249 


.... 


41 


.... 


69 


.... 


451 


174 



174 



The detachment of artillery and a company of 
militia which were also with Tarleton are not men- 
tioned in the returns. They carried his strength to 
between ten hundred and fifty and eleven hundred, 
and of these, all that were "fit for duty" in the re- 
turns of the next three months were one hundred and 
seventy-four men of the Legion. Morgan turned 
over six hundred prisoners to the Commissary of 
Prisoners a week later ; and this places the killed and 
wounded who were left on the field at about three 
hundred. Besides the prisoners, Morgan captured 
two field guns, eight hundred muskets, the colors of 
the Seventh and Seventy-first Regiments, thirty-five 
wagons, one hundred horses, and a large number of 
tents, which were very acceptable to the Americans, 
as they had none of their own. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE RETREAT TO THE DAN AND THE BATTLE OF 
GUILFORD COURT HOUSE — 1781. 

Morgan's cool judgment was not disturbed by 
this victory. He had annihilated the force in front 
of him, and there was nothing more to be gained by 
remaining where he was. He knew that Cornwallis 
was either already on his way, or soon would be, 
with a greatly superior force, to cut off his retreat. 
Soon after noon of the day of the battle, therefore, 
he left the wounded under a flag of truce and began 
crossing the Broad River on his retreat eastward 
toward the main body under Greene. He was so 
much encumbered not only by the prisoners but by 
the valuable ammunition, muskets, and guns which 
he had captured, that he did not reach the north 
branch of the Catawba River until January 23d. He 
crossed the river on the 24th, and then halted in a 
secure place until he should ascertain what Corn- 
wallis's intentions were. But Cornwallis was not 
heard from until the 25th, and then at Ramsour's 
Mill on the west fork of the Catawba, over twenty 
miles in his rear. Morgan therefore sent off his 
prisoners to Virginia by a route near the mountains 
where they could be easily guarded, and determined 
to wait until Cornwallis should come up ; and in the 
meantime he hoped to be able to collect some militia. 



192 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Cornwallis on the day of the battle (January 17th) 
was at Turkey Creek, about twenty-five miles south- 
east of the battle ground. Leslie was moving from 
Camden to join him, and was a day's march in his 
rear. In the plan suggested by Tarleton in his 
letter of January 4th, and fully approved by Corn- 
wallis in his reply of the 5th, it was specified that 
Cornwallis should move with the main army toward 
King's Mountain at the same time that he gave the 
order for Tarleton to advance, so that while Tarle- 
ton should attack Morgan in front, Cornwallis with 
the main force should be in Morgan's rear and inter- 
cept the retreat. Cornwallis accordingly moved on 
the 7th, but so slowly that at the end of eleven days 
he had only marched thirty miles, and was twenty- 
five miles away from Morgan. He was moving 
leisurely so as to give time for Leslie to join him, 
which, as Tarleton justly observes, formed no part of 
the original plan, and was, moreover, unnecessary, as 
Cornwallis's force, even without the addition of 
Leslie's, largely outnumbered Morgan's. Tarleton's 
fugitives reached Cornwallis's camp at Turkey Creek 
on the evening of the 17th, but Cornwallis still 
waited another day for Leslie to join him. On the 
19th he advanced, but instead of moving north 
through Yorkville to intercept Morgan at the fords 
of the Catawba, which were as near to him as to Mor- 
gan, he moved northwest toward King's Mountain, 
according to the original plan, and apparently with 
the idea that Morgan would remain on the Broad 
River after his victory. When he reached the Little 
Broad on the 21st, he learned that Morgan had 
passed it on his retreat three days before. Corn- 
wallis therefore turned east in pursuit of Morgan, 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



193 



but still moved so slowly that he was four days in 
covering the twenty-five miles to Ramsour's Mill on 
the west fork of the Catawba. He then decided 
that his army had too much baggage for the rapid 
movements that would be required of it, and he 
stopped two days on the banks of the west fork to 
burn up his own baggage and that of his men, and 
all his wagons except those which were loaded with 
hospital stores, salt, and ammunition, and four which 
were reserved empty for the use of the sick and 
wounded. On the 28th he cautiously resumed his 
march, and on the 29th arrived on the west bank of 
the Catawba opposite Morgan. His conduct during 
the three weeks of this tardy pursuit was not up to 
his reputation, and was far different from the energy 
which he had displayed in his march from New 
Brunswick to Trenton in the Christmas week of 
1776. He lost the chance which was easily within 
his grasp of crushing Morgan and placing himself 
across Greene's line of retreat at the very beginning 
of the campaign. 

In the meantime Greene had heard of the victory 
at the Cowpens by a brief note from Morgan, re- 
ceived at his camp at Cheraw, on the Pedee, on the 
evening of the 24th. Greene's first idea was that he 
could utilize this victory to act on the offensive in 
the western part of South Carolina, and on the 25th 
he wrote to Marion to ask his opinion on the feasi- 
bility of crossing the Santee and making a raid with 
three hundred or four hundred horsemen around 
Cornwallis's rear, rejoining him at Ninety-Six. On 
the 26th he wrote to Lee that he intended to start 
for Charlotte and consult with Morgan, Davidson, 
Sumter, and Pickens in regard to assembling all his 



194 



GENERAL GREENE. 



force and moving against Ninety-Six. But, on further 
reflection, he seems to have abandoned these ideas 
and determined to limit his plans to a junction of 
his main body with Morgan, and resisting, if possi- 
ble, Cornwallis's advance toward Virginia. He there- 
fore wrote to the governors of North Carolina and 
Virginia appealing for militia to join him on the 
Catawba, ordered Huger to break camp immediately 
and march up the Yadkin toward Salisbury, sent in- 
structions to Colonel Lee to rejoin Huger as soon as 
possible, and then taking his aid, Major Burnett, a 
sergeant, and three mounted militiamen, he started 
on the 28th to ride across the country ninety miles 
to Charlotte and then join Morgan wherever he 
should find him on the Catawba. He reached Mor- 
gan's camp at Beatty's ford on the 30th, and learned 
that Cornwallis was only a few miles away, across 
the river. During the 27th and 28th it had rained 
very heavily, and the Catawba had risen during the 
29th so that the fords were impassable. The water 
was at its height during the night of the 29th, but 
on the 30th, when Greene arrived, it had already 
begun to subside. It was evident that the fords 
would be passable on the following day, and Morgan's 
force was insufficient to prevent the passage by 
Cornwallis. Greene therefore determined at once 
to send Morgan in retreat toward Salisbury and 
there join Huger and the main body of Continentals, 
reserving the militia under Davidson as a rear guard 
to protect the fords and delay Cornwallis's crossing 
as long as possible. It is said that Morgan did not 
approve this plan, but preferred a divergent retreat, 
his own force going westward over the mountains; 
and he insisted on this so urgently, that he told 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



195 



Greene he would not be answerable for the conse- 
quences if his plan was not followed. But Greene 
quickly asserted his authority by replying : "Neither 
will you, for I shall take the measure upon myself." 
And Morgan cheerfully complied with his orders. 

The river continuing to fall during the next two 
days, on the evening of January 31st Cornwallis 
determined to force a passage. He divided his force 
into two bodies, sending Lieutenant-Colonel Webster 
with the Thirty-third Regiment, the second battalion 
of the Seventy-first, Hamilton's corps of militia, the 
Yagers, the six-pounders, and all the wagons — about 
nine hundred men in all — to make a feint at Beatty's 
ford, where he supposed the main body to be; while 
with the balance of his force, about fifteen hundred 
and fifty men, consisting of the Brigade of the 
Guards, the Twenty-third Regiment, the regiment 
of Bose, and what was left of Tarleton's Legion, he 
moved against McGowan's ford, six miles lower 
down the river, which he supposed to be unguarded. 
In fact, however, Morgan had been stationed at 
Beatty's ford, and had left it that morning to march 
to Salisbury; and McGowan's ford was guarded by 
the North Carolina militia under Davidson, number- 
ing about five hundred men. 

Both detachments marched during the night, and 
just before dawn Cornwallis arrived at McGowan's 
ford. It was beginning to rain, and he feared an- 
other rise in the river ; so the Guards were ordered 
to lead across the ford, and not to fire until they 
reached the opposite bank. The river was about 
five hundred yards wide, the bottom rocky and the 
current swift. When the Guards were about half 
way across they were discovered by the militia, who 



196 



GENERAL GREENE. 



promptly opened fire on them. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hall, of the Guards, was killed, and Cornwallis's horse 
was shot under him and only lived long enough to 
reach the bank. The Guards pressed on in spite of 
the fire and without returning it, but the guide be- 
came frightened and managed to escape. Instead of 
following the ford, which inclined down the stream, 
the column then moved straight across the river; 
the men got into very deep water, but they reached 
the bank in safety. The escape of the guide was 
fortunate for the British and equally unfortunate 
for the militia. The latter were posted behind rocks 
and trees at the end of the ford, where they could 
pick off the British as they approached the shore; 
but as the British did not follow the ford, they 
reached the bank some distance above the militia. 
This made it necessary for the latter to leave their 
chosen position and form to meet a flank attack from 
the British. In attempting to do so, Davidson and 
several of his men were killed, whereupon the rest 
fled and dispersed. On the British side, in addition 
to Lieutenant-Colonel Hall, three men had been 
killed and thirty-six wounded. 

During the previous day Morgan had marched 
from Beatty's ford to Salisbury, and Greene had 
followed him on February ist to Mr. David Carr's 
house, about five miles from Salisbury, which had 
been appointed as the rendezvous of the militia of 
the adjoining counties, which Greene had endeavored 
to call out as soon as he reached Morgan's camp. 
As soon as Cornwallis established himself on the 
east bank of the river, he sent Tarleton with the 
Legion and the Twenty-third Regiment to attack the 
rear of the American camp at Beatty's ford; but on 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



197 



arriving there they found the camp deserted, and 
Tarleton began scouting toward Salisbury. He soon 
learned that some of Davidson's men, who had fled 
from the river, and some of the militia from the 
county, were to meet during the afternoon at Tar- 
rant's tavern, about ten miles from the Catawba. He 
rode forward to disperse them, and did so after a 
short skirmish in which he lost seven men and twenty 
horses. He then returned to Cornwallis's camp. 
Had he continued his scouting five miles farther 
toward Salisbury he would have captured Greene, 
who was waiting at Carr's house for the militia to 
assemble. He was attended only by his staff. The 
militia did not assemble, but about midnight, in the 
midst of a drenching rain, a few of those who had 
been dispersed at Tarrant's tavern came to Carr's 
house and told Greene that Davidson was killed, the 
militia dispersed, and Cornwallis over the Catawba. 
It was bad news, and as Greene rode on in the rain 
toward Salisbury the outlook for his campaign was 
as dark as the night itself. Two days before, he 
had written to Lee to make a forced march to join 
him, and in exuberant spirits had added, " Here is a 
fine field and great glory ahead." But now, when 
at the close of this night of February ist he dis- 
mounted at the tavern in Salisbury, and some one 
expressed surprise at his being alone, he truthfully 
and sadly answered, " Yes, tired, hungry, alone, and 
penniless." 

On that same morning of February 2d Cornwallis 
pushed forward in pursuit, and he pushed actively. 
There was no more of that delay which had charac- 
terized him at the time of the battle of the Cowpens. 
During the chase from the Catawba to the Dan he 



igS GENERAL GREENE. 

acted with his old-time vigor and energy. He en- 
tered SaUsbury on the morning of February 3d, and 
found it already evacuated, not only by Morgan's 
troops but by a large portion of its inhabitants, who 
had packed their household goods On horses or in 
wagons and preferred to take their chance with 
Morgan in his retreat rather than remain in their 
homes during the occupation by the British. 

On entering Salisbury, Cornwallis was informed 
that Morgan was only a few miles ahead of him at 
the Trading ford on the Yadkin, and that he had 
not yet crossed. Cornwallis therefore sent forward 
an advance guard under General O'Hara, consistmg 
of the Guards, the regiment of Bose, and the cavalry. 
But they did not reach the ford until after dark, and 
then learned that Morgan had crossed on the pre- 
vious day and night in boats, and had kept all these 
boats on the north shore. Owing to heavy rains the 
river was not fordable, and O'Hara could only sit 
down on the bank opposite Morgan, with his infantry, 
and send Tarleton and the cavalry back to report 
the facts to Cornwallis. Tarleton was then ordered 
to reconnoiter up the stream and, if possible, find a 
crossing place. He reported that the upper fords 
above the forks of the Yadkin were passable and 
unoccupied. O'Hara was therefore brought back to 
Salisbury, and on the 7th the entire force moved up 
to the Shallow fords, crossed there, and continued 
their march to Salem, where Cornwallis arrived on 
the loth. On the previous day Greene's army was 
united at Guilford, twenty-five miles east of Salem. 

Before leaving the Catawba, on the morning of 
February ist, Greene had written to Huger, who was 
marching toward Salisbury, telling him that Corn- 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



199 



wallis had just crossed the Catawba and would 
doubtless press vigorously to Salisbury and soon be 
there. Huger was therefore directed to push for 
Salisbury, if he was in condition to make a forced 
march, and arrive before Cornwallis; otherwise to 
move north to Guilford, where Morgan would join 
him ; in any event, the baggage and stores were to 
go to Guilford, and horses were to be impressed in 
order to hasten the march. On the 2d, Greene wrote 
Huger from Salisbury, telling him to move direct to 
Guilford, as there was no chance of his reaching 
Salisbury before Cornwallis. Greene then went on 
to the Trading ford with Morgan, crossed with him 
on the evening of the 2d or morning of the 3d, and 
saw O'Hara arrive there on the evening of the 3d. 
The river began falling on the 4th, and it was evi- 
dent that Cornwallis would soon be able to cross 
either at the Trading ford or the fords above. Mor- 
gan's force was entirely too small to meet him alone, 
and Greene therefore resumed his march on the night 
of the 4th, drawing Morgan back about twenty-five 
miles to the vicinity of Salem and waiting there to see 
what Cornwallis would do. On the 7th he learned 
that Cornwallis was marching toward the Shallow 
ford, and Greene thereupon moved over to Guilford, 
where Huger and Lee joined him on the 9th. At 
the same time Morgan was compelled by ill health 
to leave the army. 

Greene's returns at this date show a total force 
of 2,036, of whom 1,426 were Continentals. Corn- 
wallis's return of February ist shows 2,440, and 
March ist, 2,213 "present and fit for duty." At 
this date the numbers were probably about 2,300, 
and nearly the whole force was of British regulars. 



200 GENERAL GREENE. 

the best troops in the army, with the two battalions 
of the Guards at their head. 

Greene was anxious to give battle. He feared 
that the effect of his retreat would discourage the 
people of the Carolinas and Virginia, and he had no 
intention of retreating forever before Cornwallis. 
He had hoped that by the time the two divisions of his 
army were united he would be joined by twelve hun- 
dred or fifteen hundred militia, and, if so, he was deter- 
mined to fight. But, in spite of his appeals in every 
direction, not a man had appeared. He therefore 
felt obliged to submit the question to a council of 
war, and the members of this promptly and unani- 
mously decided against a battle and in favor of con- 
tinuing the retreat to Virginia. 

Cornwallis, on the other hand, was using every 
effort to force Greene to battle. He was already 
one hundred and fifty miles from his base of supplies 
at Winnsborough and Camden, and every day was 
increasing the distance. He had destroyed his bag- 
gage and wagons, and although he might subsist on 
the country, he had no means of replenishing his 
ammunition. He knew that he was superior to 
Greene in numbers and much more in the quality of 
his men, and he felt confident that if he could force 
him to battle he could inflict such a defeat as would 
dispose of all armed resistance in the Carolinas and 
open the way unobstructed to Virginia. When he 
succeeded in getting across the Yadkin, on February 
7th, he debated between two plans. If he pushed 
rapidly between Morgan and Huger he might suc- 
ceed in beating each in succession before they ef- 
fected a junction. But, on the other hand, if he got 
between Greene's two detachments and the Dan 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 201 

River, he could cut Greene off from the fords of the 
upper Dan and force him to the lower part of the 
river, where it was not fordable. He felt sure that 
Greene could not collect enough boats to carry his 
force across the river, and his retreat to Virginia 
would thus be completely cut off and he would be 
at Cornwallis's mercy. Cornwallis decided on the 
second plan, and his decision was based on correct 
principles. It was a perfectly fair and proper pre- 
sumption that Greene could not collect the boats. 
Nevertheless, Greene did collect the boats, and so 
Cornwallis's plan came to grief. 

Having made his decision, Cornwallis moved out 
from Salem on the nth, marched nearly due north 
till he came close to the Dan, and then followed 
along its southern bank to the eastward. 

On the loth Greene began his march straight for 
Boyd's Ferry, on the Dan River, eighty miles away. 
Carrington had joined him the day before, and re- 
ported that the boats had all been collected in the 
vicinity of the ferry, in accordance with Greene's 
order given six weeks before, when Carrington was 
appointed quartermaster general. Before starting, 
Greene sent orders to Sumter to collect his followers 
in South Carolina and threaten the posts at Nmety- 
Six and Camden. He also sent Pickens, who had 
just returned after conducting the prisoners taken at 
the Cowpens to Virginia, to Charlotte, to raise the 
militia in that vicinity and hang upon Cornwallis's 
rear, break up his communications with South Caro- 
lina, and pick up any bodies of stragglers. Finally 
he formed a detachment of seven hundred men, and 
gave the command of it to his young adjutant gen- 
eral. Colonel Otho H. Williams. It consisted of a 
14 



202 GENERAL GREENE. 

body of picked infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Howard, of Washington's Cavalry, and Lee's Legion. 
Greene sent this detachment off on his left flank, 
toward the upper fords of the Dan, with instructions 
to get in front of Cornwallis, delay his march as 
much as possible, and keep always between Corn- 
wallis and the main body of Greene's army. Wil- 
liams performed this duty with marked ability. His 
rear guard under Lee was in sight of Cornwallis's 
advance guard under O'Hara all the time during the 
next four days, and most of the time was skirmish- 
ing with it. 

Greene made good time with the main body, and 
covered the eighty miles to Boyd's Ferry in a little 
over three days. On the morning of the 13th he 
arrived at the river bank and was ferried over, estab- 
lishing himself under cover of the partially com- 
pleted earthworks which Kosciusko had been sent 
back to build a week before. Williams arrived the 
next afternoon, and, leaving Lee to hold the rear 
against O'Hara, ferried his infantry over before 
dark. Lee skirmished with O'Hara till after night- 
fall, and then silently withdrew. As he reached the 
river bank the boats were there to carry over his 
men, and the horses were forced to swim. Before 
midnight all were safe on the northern bank. Corn- 
wallis came up the next day and saw Greene's force 
on the other side of the river. He had no means of 
crossing, and was forced to encamp on the south 
side of the Dan River. 

Thus ended this memorable retreat of two hun- 
dred and thirty miles, made by a half-clad army, over 
miry roads, in the dead of winter, "several hundreds 
of the soldiers tracking the ground with their bloody 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



203 



feet." It elicited the admiration of friend and foe 
at that time, and it has since called forth the praise 
of every student who has examined it. In a burst 
of generous enthusiasm for his own commander, 
Harry Lee said : " Happily for these States, a sol- 
dier of consummate talents guided the destiny of the 
South." And Tarleton, in calmer but not less com- 
plimentary language, wrote: "Every measure of 
the Americans, during their march from the Catawba 
to Virginia, was judiciously designed and vigorously 
executed." Washington wrote to Greene: "You 
may be assured that your retreat before Lord Corn- 
wallis is highly applauded by all ranks, and reflects 
much honor on your military abilities." 

Cornwallis had reached the border of Virginia, 
but there his progress was blocked. He could only 
retreat to the fords of the upper Dan, and, crossing 
these and the head waters of the Roanoke, make a 
long and circuitous march, with Greene on his flank, 
to join Arnold on the James, or else retire into 
North Carolina and give up the offensive. Having 
destroyed all his baggage, the former plan was out 
of the question, and he chose the latter. By easy 
marches he returned to Hillsborough, in North Caro- 
lina, and there " raised the royal standard " on Feb- 
ruary 20th, and issued his proclamation inviting the 
King's " faithful and loyal subjects to repair, with- 
out loss of time, with their arms and ten days' pro- 
visions, to the royal standard now erected at Hills- 
borough, where they will meet with the most friendly 
reception." Pending the acceptance of this invita- 
tion, he did what he could to refit his army, which 
was exhausted by its long and arduous march. 

Greene had made a masterly retreat, but to his 



204 



GENERAL GREENE. 



mind that was not the whole of generalship. He 
meant to resume the offensive at the earliest possi- 
ble moment, and no sooner did Cornwallis withdraw 
from the Dan than Williams and Lee were sent in 
pursuit, to hang upon his flanks and rear and keep in 
close contact with him. Pickens had also collected 
a few hundred militia about Charlotte, and, march- 
ing along the route over which the two armies had 
just passed, he was already nearly at Guilford. 
Greene intended to cross the Dan with his main 
body just as soon as re-enforcements, which were 
expected from Virginia, should arrive. It has been 
contended that Greene's retreat was part of a deep- 
laid plan to draw Cornwallis away from his base, 
while Greene constantly approached his. There is 
no evidence of this. The retreat was forced upon 
Greene by Cornwallis, and Greene accepted it re- 
luctantly. Nevertheless, the result was the same as 
if it had been Greene's own plan. Every day Corn- 
wallis had been getting farther away from his sup- 
plies of clothing and ammunition, and he was now 
in need of both; and every day Greene had been/oN 
coming nearer Virginia, from which alone he could\^»J 
hope for re-enforcements, clothing, and arms. All 
Virginia was now thoroughly alarmed at Cornwallis's 
approach, and the militia were finally beginning to 
turn out in force. 

During the two months that Steuben had been in 
Virginia he had done everything in his power to call 
out the military resources of the State, and Governor 
Jefferson had spared no effort to assist him. Steu- 
ben's main purpose had been to collect men and sup- 
plies and forward them to Greene, but he had only 
been able to send forward one detachment in Decem- 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



205 



ber, when Arnold landed at the mouth of the James 
with a force from New York, and advanced toward 
Richmond. The month of January was consumed in a 
campaign against Arnold, driving him back to Ports- 
mouth, and during this month not a man could be 
sent South. Steuben worked at the problem with 
indefatigable energy, but his irascible temper was 
sorely tried by the difference between the way in 
which military affairs were conducted in Virginia 
and in Prussia. Jefferson issued his orders calling 
out the militia in every county, and making requi- 
sitions to fill the Continental quota; but he declined 
to take any steps for procuring clothing, arms, or 
equipment, claiming that this was the duty of the 
Continental authorities. As Congress had no power 
to enforce its requisitions, and neither Congress nor 
Virginia had any ready money, when the men ar- 
rived at the rendezvous nothing could be done to 
organize or equip them. Interest in the war had 
died out, and advantage was taken of every defect 
in the militia law to escape service. Boys and dwarfs 
were sent to fill requisitions, and if the militia had 
been called out once during the year they refused to 
assemble a second time ; if the militia was in service 
the counties refused to fill the Continental quota. 
No longer service than eighteen months was talked 
of, and in most cases this was reduced to two. Large 
bounties in paper money were promised, but as the 
currency was depreciated to 140 for i, the actual 
amount was small, and only a portion of this was 
paid, whereupon the recruits deserted. 

By reason of these various obstacles Steuben was 
unable to send Greene more than four hundred men, 
who left Chesterfield Court House under command 



2o6 GENERAL GREENE. 

of Colonel Campbell on February 25th; but the ap- 
proach of Cornwallis had so alarmed the border 
counties of Virginia that the militia from these 
counties turned out in considerable force. Jefferson 
had sent an aid-de-camp to Greene's headquarters to 
learn the exact situation, and this officer reported on 
March 2d that seven hundred men under General 
Stevens and four hundred from Botetourt had al- 
ready arrived ; Colonel Campbell was daily expected 
with four hundred, and Colonel Lynch with three 
hundred from Bedford. In all, this made eighteen 
hundred from Virginia. A small number of recruits 
were on their way for the Maryland line, and Pick- 
ens's force was being daily increased by fresh acces- 
sions of North Carolina militia. 

On the other hand, the loyalists of North Carolina 
at first began to rally around the King's standard at 
Hillsborough, but the misfortune which overtook the 
largest of these bodies, under Colonel Pyle (as will 
presently be narrated), put an effectual damper on 
the loyalist ardor, and the King's supporters returned 
to their homes instead of joining his army. Corn- 
wallis was bitterly disappointed at this desertion, 
and characterized the loyalists as " dastardly and 
pusillanimous." 

Cornwallis, as we have seen, remained only a day 
on the banks of the Dan. He arrived on the after- 
noon of February 15th and left early on the 17th, 
arriving at Hillsborough on the 20th. Greene fol- 
lowed him closely. On the 17th he issued orders 
for Pickens and Lee to cross the Dan, get in front 
of Cornwallis, keep watch of his movements, and 
prevent any body of loyalists from joining him. 
Pickens and Lee crossed the river on the morning 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



207 



of the i8th, and marched about twenty-five miles on 
the road to Guilford. During the night Greene 
made a hurried visit to their camp to explain still 
further his instructions, and to notify them that he 
would cross the Dan with the main body just as soon 
as the expected re-enforcements from Virginia ar- 
rived. The next day Pickens and Lee continued 
their march to the southward, leaving the Guilford 
road and moving through the broken country so 
as to strike the highroad from Hillsborough to 
Salisbury, along which, as they learned from their 
reconnoitering parties, Tarleton was advancing to 
meet a party of Tories and escort them back to 
Hillsborough. After several days of cautious ma- 
noeuvring, on February 25th Pickens and Lee came 
up with this party, which proved to be a body of four 
hundred loyalists under Colonel Pyle. They were 
moving through a lane in a southerly direction in 
the hope of meeting Tarleton on the road from 
Hillsborough to Salisbury. Tarleton was on this 
road a few miles south of them, and was just going 
into camp for the night. Pickens and Lee had 
formed their detachment for the purpose of attack- 
ing Tarleton, but as they advanced they learned 
from two prisoners that Colonel Pyle was between 
them and Tarleton. Lee instantly formed the plan 
of capturing this detachment bodily. The uniform 
of his men closely resembled that of Tarleton's 
Legion. He therefore compelled the two prisoners, 
under pain of instant death, to act as if his legion 
was a re-enforcement moving to Tarleton's assist- 
ance, and with the two prisoners at the head of the 
column he moved along the lane toward Pyle. Pres- 
ently two well-mounted young countrymen were met 



2o8 GENERAL GREENE. 

and cordially received by Lee, who assumed his part 
so well that they were completely deceived, and 
rode back to Pyle with a request that he form his 
men on the right of the road so as to allow this re- 
enforcement, tired with their march, to pass. Pyle 
did so, and Lee with his legion passed along their 
entire front. Lee had just shaken hands with Pyle, 
who was on the right of his line, and was about to 
explain his true character and demand his surrender, 
when some of Pyle's men on the extreme left saw 
Pickens's men in rear of the Legion, and, recognizing 
their uniform as that of Americans, opened fire on 
them. The stratagem being thus exposed, there was 
nothing for the Legion to do but return their fire; 
they faced to the right and did so at arms' length. 
The result was that ninety of Pyle's force were killed 
outright, nearly all the rest, including Pyle himself, 
were wounded, and those who were able to run in- 
stantly dispersed. Lee did not lose a man. Corn- 
wallis, having heard on the previous day that Greene 
had crossed the Dan, sent three messengers in suc- 
cession to Tarleton with orders to return to Hills- 
borough at once. Pickens and Lee were at first 
disposed to attack Tarleton that same afternoon, 
but, on account of the long march and fatigue of the 
men, they decided to postpone it until morning. 
Tarleton on his side was equally determined to at- 
tack Lee in the morning; but during the night the 
three couriers arrived from Cornwallis, and he had 
no option but to retreat. He did so promptly, and 
by morning had passed Lee and was at the fords on 
the Haw River. Pickens and Lee followed them, 
but as they anticipated that Cornwallis had sent a 
re-enforcement to Tarleton, it was deemed impru- 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



209 



dent to attack him, and Tarleton effected his retreat 
without molestation. 

Meanwhile Greene, having received a portion of 
the re-enforcements expected from Virginia, had 
recrossed the Dan on February 23d, and was march- 
ing up the same road to Guilford, over which he had 
retreated two weeks before. On the 28th he crossed 
the head waters of the Haw at High Rock ford, 
about fifteen miles from Guilford; and on the fol- 
lowing day he moved forward a few miles in the 
country between Troublesome and Reedy Forks, 
two branches of the Haw. 

Cornwallis had given the loyalists ten days from 
February 20th to assemble at Hillsborough, but none 
came, and the country in that vicinity was destitute 
of provisions. On February 26th, the day after Pyle's 
detachment was cut to pieces, he broke up his camp 
at Hillsborough, marched on the road to Salisbury 
until he had crossed the Haw, and then turned to the 
right and went into camp on the banks of Allemance 
Creek, on February 28th. Two days later he sent 
Tarleton with the cavalry of his Legion and about 
two hundred and fifty infantry to reconnoiter in the 
direction of Greene's army ; on the previous day 
Greene had sent out a similar force for the purpose 
of reconnoitering Cornwallis's position. It was under 
command of Colonel Williams, and consisted of 
Pickens's militia, Lee's Legion, and a body of moun- 
tameers under Colonel Preston, who had joined Lee 
the evening after Pyle's defeat. The two bodies 
met on the afternoon of March 2d, about three miles 
from Cornwallis's camp, and a sharp skirmish resulted, 
after which Williams retreated toward the main body. 

The two armies were thus in contact. Corn- 



2IO GENERAL GREENE. 

wallis was anxious to bring Greene to battle at once. 
Greene was equally anxious to fight, but not till his 
militia had all arrived. In following Cornwallis so 
closely when the latter retired from the Dan, and 
before his own re-enforcements had arrived, Greene 
took great risk. But he had a most important object 
in view, in which he was entirely successful — viz., to 
prevent the uprising of the royalists in support of 
Cornwallis ; and as Lee well says, he assumed the 
risk, " depending on the resources of his fertile mind 
and the tried skill and courage of his faithful though 
inferior army." It was now imperative, however, 
that Cornwallis should not force him to battle until 
the militia had arrived. For the next ten days both 
sides sparred for position, Cornwallis trying to bring 
on an engagement and Greene determined to avoid 
one. Every night Greene changed his position, and 
every day his troops were in motion, until Corn- 
wallis was equally bewildered as to his position and 
his strength, and came finally to believe that he had 
between nine thousand and ten thousand men. The 
gallant Earl, however, was nothing daunted, though 
he had but two thousand men; he knew their good 
quality, and was determined to force a battle at the 
earliest moment. His camp on the AUemance Creek 
was well chosen, for it was at the meeting point of 
roads leading to Salisbury, Guilford, High Rock 
ford, and Hillsborough. He could strike in any one 
of these directions if the favorable opportunity of- 
fered. On the 6th he learned that the Virginia re- 
enforcements, which should have followed the direct 
road from Boyd's Ferry to Guilford, had turned off 
to Hillsborough. They had heard that Cornwallis 
had left Hillsborough and was moving down toward 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 21I 

the Cape Fear River. Presuming that Greene would 
be following him, they marched toward Hillsborough 
instead of continuing on the road to Guilford. 
Greene heard of it and sent them instructions to 
march west from Hillsborough. But Cornwallis 
heard of it too, and he determined to strike a blow 
before they arrived, and in a direction which would 
prevent their junction. On the 6th of March, there- 
fore, in a heavy fog, he crossed Allemance Creek and 
moved rapidly toward High Rock ford. Williams 
with his detachment of light troops was a few miles 
in front of him and to his left, and Greene was in 
rear of Williams at Boyd's Mills on the Reedy Fork. 
Tarleton and his Legion, and Webster with his bri- 
gade (Twenty-third, Thirty-third, and Seventy-first 
Regiments), were in the lead of Cornwallis's army, 
and their road led to a crossing of Reedy Fork at 
Wetzell's Mill, and thence to the High Rock ford on 
the Haw. If Cornwallis could gain and hold this 
point, the Virginia re-enforcements would be com- 
pletely cut off before they could join Greene. Web- 
stei; and Tarleton on one road, and Williams with 
Pickens and Lee on the other, thus raced for the 
crossing at Wetzell's Mill. Greene with the main 
body moved back to the fords on the Haw some 
miles above High Rock ford, and then marched 
down the north bank to that point. He thus avoided 
the risk of being cut off by Cornwallis before he 
could cross the river. 

Williams reached the river first, got his men 
safely across, and retreated about five miles to a 
place he had picked out for a camp for the night. 
Webster was close behind him at the mill, and there 
was skirmishing there and on the north side of the 



212 GENERAL GREENE. 

creek between Tarleton and Lee all the afternoon. 
But the losses were slight, and Cornwallis's main 
body was not near enough to make a vigorous as- 
sault upon Williams. Just as Williams was going 
into camp at dusk, Major Burnett, Greene's aid-de- 
camp, rode up with instruction's to cross the Haw. 
Williams did so, and the next morning joined Greene 
just above the High Rock ford. 

This move of Cornwallis's was a brilliant one, 
and if it had been as vigorously executed as it was 
skillfully conceived, it is hard to see how Greene 
could have escaped. If Cornwallis had had his en- 
tire force in hand, he must have crushed Williams 
and reached and crossed High Rock ford before 
Greene could get there ; he would then have cut off 
the re-enforcements coming from Virginia via Hills- 
borough ; and Greene, with one third of his best 
troops gone, would have been forced to retreat to 
Virginia with all haste. But Greene was quicker 
than Cornwallis ; Williams and Lee made a skillful 
defense, and Greene reunited his whole force on the 
north of the Haw before Cornwallis got there. The 
latter knew it would be useless to attempt to force a 
passage in the face of Greene, and he did not attempt 
it. Thus, for the fourth time — first at the Catawba, 
then at the Yadkin, then at the Dan, and now at the 
Haw — Greene, by his literally sleepless energy and 
the celerity of his movements, put a river between 
himself and his foe, and saved his little army from 
destruction. Cornwallis saw that he had been out- 
manoeuvred, and on the following day retreated 
about twenty miles to Deep River, partly, as he says, 
to attempt to raise the loyalists, and partly to ap- 
proach the Cape Fear River with a view to opening 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



213 



up communications with the coast. Tarleton blames 
CornwalHs for not continuing the movement and vig- 
orously attacking Greene after Williams had joined 
him. He claims that if this had been done it " would 
probably have averted many of the subsequent ca- 
lamities." But the criticism is not warranted, Corn- 
walHs had lost in this particular manoeuvre, and was 
now in an unfavorable position for attack ; he was 
quite right in retreating a few miles and manoeuvring 
for a more favorable position. 

Three days later (March loth) the long-expected 
re-enforcements joined Greene at the Iron Works on 
the Haw, just above High Rock ford. He spent 
two days in organizing and arranging them, and then 
moved forward to Guilford to fight. His army now 
numbered more than at any other time during the 
Southern campaign — forty-four hundred and forty- 
four men in all, organized as follows: 

Virginia Brigade, Brigadier General Huger, two regi- 
ments 778 

Maryland Brigade and one company of Delaware 

Battalion, Colonel Williams, two regiments 630 

Washington's Cavalry, two companies 86 

Lee's Legion, one battalion of infantry, one company 

of cavalry 157 

Total regulars I1651 

First Brigade, Virginia militia, General Stevens. . 

Second Brigade, Virginia militia, General Lawson 

Two rifle regiments, Virginia militia, Colonels 
Lynch and Campbell 

First Brigade, North Carolina militia, General 
Butler 

Second Brigade, North Carolina militia, General 
Eaton. _ 

One company of cavalry. Major Bretagne 40 

Total militia 2,793 

Aggregate 4.444 



1.693 



1,060 



214 



GENERAL GREENE. 



The artillery consisted of two detachments of two 
guns each, commanded by Lieutenants Singleton and 
Furey, and numbering sixty gunners — or, as they 
were then called, matrosses. They were attached to 
the Maryland and Virginia brigades, and are in- 
cluded in the numbers given above. 

There was much difference in the quality of these 
troops. The Maryland brigade had fought with great 
gallantry at Long Island, Trenton, Brandywine, Ger- 
mantown, Camden, and Cowpens. The First Regi- 
ment still contained a large number of veterans, but 
the Second had been cut to pieces at Camden and 
was now almost wholly composed of recruits. The 
Virginia brigade had served under Greene's own 
command in the Pennsylvania battles, but the old 
men had nearly all been discharged at the expiration 
of three years' service, and this brigade also was 
now principally made up of recruits. In the Virginia 
militia, Stevens's brigade was partly composed of 
men who had served their time in the Continental 
line and partly of substitutes and drafted men ; Law- 
son's Brigade was made up of fresh levies without 
discipline or experience, and both the North Carolina 
brigades were of the same character. Washington's 
Cavalry and Lee's Legion were picked veterans, as 
fine troops as ever fought, and commanded by offi- 
cers of unsurpassed merit. Greene's opinions con- 
cerning the relative value of regulars and militia were 
to have in this memorable battle a sad but complete 
vindication. Had his force, or even half of it, been 
composed of troops like the First Maryland or Lee's 
Legion, he would have destroyed Cornwallis's army 
and terminated the Southern campaign at one blow. 

Cornwallis reported to Clinton, under date of 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



215 



April loth, that his force at Guilford numbered 
thirteen hundred and sixty infantry and about two 
hundred cavalry. But Clinton asked how it was pos- 
sible that his strength was reduced to such a small 
figure, and Cornwallis's own returns disprove it. His 
force was probably in excess of twenty-five hundred, 
and the exact numbers of "rank and f\\e, present and 
fit for duty" are given in his return of March ist as 
follows : 

Brigade of Guards, First and Second Battalions, and Grena- 
diers, Brigadier General O'Hara 605 

General Leslie's Brigade : 

Seventy-first Foot (Eraser's Highlanders) 212 

Regiment of Bose, Major Du Buy 313 

Lieutenant Colonel Webster's Brigade : 

Twenty-third Foot 258 

Thirty-third Foot 322 

British Legion, Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton 174 

Battalion of Yagers 97 

Hamilton's North Carolina Regiment and other provincials. 232 

Total 2,213 

There was, in addition, a detachment of the Royal Ar- 
tillery, under Lieutenant McLeod, numbering about 
one hundred men, with four guns. 

The quality of these troops was of the very best. 
Most of them had been in America since 1776, and 
had fought at all the battles around New York and 
Philadelphia, at Charleston and at Camden. In this 
campaign Cornwallis proudly says of them : " Their 
persevering intrepidity in action, their invincible pa- 
tience in the hardships and fatigues of a march of 
above six hundred miles, in which they have forded 
several large rivers and numberless creeks, many of 
which would be numbered large rivers in any other 
country in the world, without tents or covering 



2l6 GENERAL GREENE. 

against the climate, and often without provisions, 
will sufificiently manifest their ardent zeal for the 
honor and interests of their sovereign and their 
country." 

On the 1 2th of March Greene put his army in 
motion from High Rock ford, and on the 14th 
reached Guilford. On the same day Cornwallis sent 
his baggage down the Deep River, under escort of 
Hamilton's North Carolina Regiment, and marched 
toward Guilford. Both were anxious for battle, and, 
as Greene said in his letter to Washington, " when 
both parties are agreed in a matter all obstacles are 
soon removed." On the morning of the 15th, Lee and 
Tarleton, who were reconnoitering in front of their 
respective armies, came together on the Salisbury 
road, about four miles south of Guilford, and there 
was a sharp skirmish, in which Tarleton was wounded 
in the hand. Greene immediately sent his baggage 
back to the Iron Works on the Haw, which was desig- 
nated as the rallying place in case of defeat, and be- 
gan posting his men. His position was along the 
Salisbury road, just south of the courthouse at Guil- 
ford. Both Tarleton and Lee, as well as subsequent 
historians, unite in saying that the position was ad- 
mirably chosen and the troops judiciously posted. 

Guilford Court House was situated on a hill from 
which the ground sloped gradually for half a mile to 
the southward, ending in a small rivulet. The sur- 
rounding country was mostly a wilderness, with 
cleared fields here and there. Around the court- 
house was such a clearing of old fields about three 
hundred yards in extent. In the middle of this a 
branch road from Reedy Fork united with the high- 
road to Salisbury. This latter wound down the gen- 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



217 



tie slope through tall woods with dense urtderbrush ; 
and at a distance of about half a mile, just before 
reaching the brook, there were fields on either side of 
the road about two hundred yards in extent, which 
had been planted the previous summer in corn. Be- 
yond the field, on the east of the road, was a strip of 
woods, and then another field about one hundred 
yards in extent. 

' ^ Greene placed his army in three lines. In the 
first were the two brigades of North Carolina militia, 
under Generals Butler and Eaton. They were post- 
ed on both sides of the road, in the edge of the wood, 
behind a fence which surrounded the fields. On 
their right flank were the Delaware battalion, under 
Kirkwood, and Lynch's Virginia Riflemen, and on 
the left the infantry of Lee's Legion and Campbell's 
Riflemen. The second line was composed of the 
Virginia militia, under Generals Stevens and Law- 
son ; they were posted about three hundred yards in 
rear of the first line, in the woods on either side 
of the road. The Continental regiments, the best 
troops, were naturally posted in the third line, or re- 
serve, about four hundred yards in rear of the second. 
They were on the edge of the hill, in the clearing 
just south of the courthouse — the Virginia Brigade on 
the right and the Maryland on the left. Between the 
two were two guns, under Lieutenant Furey ; the 
other two guns were in the center of the first line. 
Washington's Cavalry was in rear of the right flank, 
and Lee's in rear of the left. ^^ _ 

After crossing the brook, Cornwallis deployed in 

the following order: General Leslie on the right, 

with the regiment of Bose and the Seventy-first 

Highlanders; Lieutenant-Colonel Webster, with the 

15 



2i8 GENERAL GREENE. 

Twenty-third and Thirty-third Regiments in the cen- 
ter, on either side of the road; the Yagers and Light 
Infantry of the Guard on the left. The Guards were 
in reserve close behind the main line — the first bat- 
talion in rear of Leslie, the second in rear of the 
Twenty-third Regiment, and the Grenadiers in rear 
of the Thirty-third. The artillery was in the road, 
between the Twenty-third and Thirty-third, and 
Tarleton's Cavalry was in rear of the whole line. 

The battle opened at half past one o'clock in the 
afternoon by a cannonade from the British guns, 
which lasted twenty minutes. Then the infantry ad- 
vanced. The position of the North Carolina militia 
was so advantageous — in the edge of a wood behind 
a fence, and with open fields in front, the flanks pro- 
tected by riflemen so posted as to enfilade the British 
line as it advanced — that it was anticipated that very 
serious and possibly successful resistance could be 
made to the British advance at this point. But, to 
the dismay of the Americans, when the militia saw 
the redcoats advance in a steady line across the field, 
then discharge their pieces and start to charge with 
a loud yell, they threw away their guns and scattered 
in every direction through the woods without firing 
a shot. The riflemen on either flank stood their 
ground, and this caused Leslie to gain ground to the 
right and Webster to the left ; the three battalions of 
guards were brought up to fill the gaps in the line — 
the First Battalion between the regiment of Bose 
and the Seventy-first, and the Second Battalion and 
Grenadiers between the Twenty-third and Thirty- 
third. The riflemen on each flank held their own 
so well that it became necessary for Leslie to or- 
der the regiment of Bose to change front in order 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



219 



to meet Lee's infantry ; and Webster did the same 
on the left, with the Thirty-third Regiment to op- 
pose Lynch and Kirkwood. The main body then 
pushed forward to attack the Virginia militia. These 
made an excellent defense, and held the British in 
check for some time ; every man of the latter was 
brought into action, and Tarleton says that '* at this 
period the event of the action was doubtful, and vic- 
tory alternately presided over each army." Gradu- 
ally, however, Webster with the Thirty-third began 
to push back Lynch and Kirkwood's Riflemen, and 
O'Hara, with the Second Battalion of the Guards and 
the Seventy-first, caused Lawson to give way ; Ste- 
vens was badly wounded and had to be carried off 
the field, which had a demoralizing effect upon the 
Virginians. But the infantry of the Legion and 
Campbell's Riflemen, on the American left, would not 
yield a foot to the Hessians and the First Battalion 
of the Guards. Thus the success of the British on 
their left and center caused them to execute a right- 
wheel in advancing, O'Hara passing across the 
Salisbury road and Webster coming into it. The 
road being thus opened, McLeod brought up two 
three-pounders and put them in position on a slight 
eminence at the southern side of the open ground, 
about two hundred and fifty yards from the court- 
house, where, half an hour later, they did great serv- 
ice, and saved the British army from defeat. As 
the British continued to advance, gradually wheeling 
to the right, the Virginia militia finally gave way 
and retreated in fairly good order — part of them 
through the woods to the northeast and part through 
the open ground, passing around the left flank of the 
Continentals to the courthouse. The riflemen under 



220 GENERAL GREENE. 

Lynch and Kirkwood, and the cavalry under Wash- 
ington, fell back straight to the position of the Con- 
tinentals, and passed through the gap between the 
Virginia and Maryland regiments. Webster followed 
up this advantage closely with the Thirty-third, but 
when he came in front of the Continental line the 
First Maryland received him with such a deadly fire 
that his men fell back somewhat precipitately to his 
left and rear across a ravine, where they rallied — 
Webster himself, a most gallant and able officer, be- 
ing killed. 

The Virginia militia having been driven off into 
the woods on the right, there was nothing left be- 
tween O'Hara and the Continental troops in front of 
the courthouse. He therefore sent the Second Bat- 
talion of the Guards, commanded by the Honorable 
Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart, closely followed by the 
Grenadiers and the Seventy-first, along the Salisbury 
road against this position. Their advance led them 
against the Second Maryland, and Williams, who com- 
manded the Maryland Brigade, hastened to this regi- 
ment expecting to give the Guards as warm a recep- 
tion as the First Maryland had given to the Thirty- 
third. But the Second Regiment was made up of new 
recruits, and was a far different body from that First 
Maryland which had done such splendid service in 
nearly every important battle of the last five years. 
To the intense mortification of Williams, the Second 
Regiment broke and ran. Stewart pressed on and 
carried the position, capturing the two guns which 
Singleton had originally placed in the line of the 
North Carolina militia, and after their flight had 
brought back and planted on the flank of the Second 
Maryland. Stewart's advantage, however, was of 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 221 

short duration. Williams rushed back to the First 
Maryland, wheeled them to the left, and struck Stew- 
art full in the flank. His men retreated hastily, carry- 
ing back with them the Grenadiers and Seventy-first 
Regiment, who were hastening to their assistance, 
and losing the two pieces which they had captured. 
Washington's Cavalry was now brought forward in a 
fine charge, which still further accelerated the retreat 
of the British. 

The battle was now at its most critical stage. 
Greene and Cornwallis were both personally in the 
thick of it, and each in quick succession narrowly 
escaped capture. O'Hara was dangerously wounded, 
and Stewart was instantly killed in a hand-to-hand 
encounter with Captain Smith, of the First Maryland. 
Had Greene thrown forward the two Virginia regi- 
ments, both of which were still fresh and unengaged, 
he might possibly have completed the rout of Corn- 
wallis's army. But he had seen not only the North 
Carolina militia run at the first fire and the Virginia 
militia driven off after a stubborn contest, but also the 
Second Maryland leave the field without any serious 
resistance. The two Virginia regiments were Con- 
tinentals, but they were both composed entirely of 
recruits. If they failed him as the Second Maryland 
had done, his army was annihilated. He was not 
willing to take the risk of total destruction, and, in- 
stead of sending the two Virginia regiments after 
the retreating Guards, he placed the better of them, 
the First Virginia, under Colonel Greene, in reserve 
in rear of the position which the Maryland Brigade 
had formerly occupied. Cornwallis, on his side, see- 
ing the retreat of the Guards, concluded that if it 
could not be stopped the day was lost. He there- 



222 GENERAL GREENE. 

fore rode rapidly to the little hill where McLeod 
had posted his two three-pounders, and ordered him 
immediately to open fire with grape. O'Hara, dis- 
mounted and badly wounded, remonstrated against 
the order, because the First Maryland was so close 
upon the Guards in their retreat that the fire would 
do as much damage to his own men as to the enemy. 
But Cornwallis peremptorily insisted on the execu- 
tion of the order. Though a number of his men 
were killed and wounded by it, yet it had the de- 
sired effect. The assault of the First Maryland and 
Washington's Cavalry was arrested, and they soon 
returned to their original position in front of the 
courthouse. 

There was now a short lull in the fight. While 
the contest had been going on in front, the struggle, 
now far in the rear, between the Hessians and the 
First Battalion of the Guards on one side, and the 
infantry of Lee's Legion and Campbell's Virginia 
Riflemen on the other, had still been going on, and 
the latter were in the same position as at the begin- 
ning. But Lee finally saw that he was completely 
separated from the rest of the army, and therefore 
withdrew though the woods, making a circuit with 
the intention of joining the left flank of the Conti- 
nentals near the courthouse. This left the Hessians 
and the First Battalion of the Guards with no enemy 
in their front, and they moved by the left to rejoin 
the rest of the British force. Cornwallis then re- 
formed his line on the edge of the clearing south of 
the courthouse, and prepared for a final assault. 

Greene had nothing that he could depend on ex- 
cept the First Maryland, two hundred and eighty-five 
strong, and Washington's cavalry, eighty-six in num- 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



223 



ber. Lee and Campbell had not yet come up from 
the left, and, in fact, did not join him until the next 
day. The militia were all broken, as well as the 
Second Maryland, and the two Virginia regiments 
were composed of recruits who had never been 
under fire. Cornwallis had still fifteen hundred 
trained, well-disciplined soldiers; they had been 
roughly handled, but they were full of determina- 
tion, and were now being reformed under his eyes 
for a final effort. Greene had the alternative of re- 
ceiving their assault — which, if unsuccessful, would 
give him the victory, and if successful, would com- 
pletely destroy his army and lose the Southern 
States forever — or of retreating while retreat was 
still possible. He chose the latter, and at half past 
three, after two hours of as hard fighting as the 
Revolution saw, he withdrew his army in good order, 
Colonel Greene with the First Virginia covering the 
retreat. The artillery horses had all been killed, and 
his four guns and two ammunition wagons had to be 
left on the field. He moved out to the west by the 
Reedy Fork road, and after a march of three miles 
he reached that stream and halted to reform his 
men. Cornwallis attempted a feeble pursuit with 
the Twenty-third and Seventy-first Regiments, but it 
was quickly abandoned. 

The day had been cloudless, with a sharp, frosty 
air. As night fell, a cold drizzle set in, and later 
this turned into a pouring rain. Through this and 
the deep mud of the clay road Greene's army pur- 
sued its retreat, crossing the Haw at the Iron Works 
just before daybreak. Here the troops were posted 
in a defensive position before they lay down to 
sleep, and were ready to receive Cornwallis in case 



224 



GENERAL GREENE. 



he continued the attack. But Cornwallis was in no 
condition for further offensive movements. He had 
fought his last battle in the Carolinas. 

The British loss was about one fourth of their 
total strength — ninety-three killed, four hundred and 
thirteen wounded, and twenty-six missing; total, five 
hundred and thirty-two. The loss in officers was 
appalling — Webster, Stewart, and nine others killed; 
O'Hara, Tarleton, and seventeen more wounded. 
On the American side the losses were seventy-eight 
killed, one hundred and eighty-three wounded, and 
ten hundred and forty-six missing; total, thirteen 
hundred and seven. The missing were nearly all in 
the militia, which had broken at the beginning of 
the engagement. Major Anderson, of the First 
Maryland, was killed ; General Huger slightly and 
General Stevens severely wounded. 

Stedman, the British historian, compares this bat- 
tle of Guilford with Crecy, Poictiers, and Agincourt, 
the most glorious feats of British arms ; and he is 
fully justified. The British general had attacked a 
force of double his strength, advantageously posted 
in a strong position of the enemy's choosing; and 
he had won the day after as hard fighting and as 
heavy losses, in proportion to his strength, as in any 
battle which the English had until then fought. It 
was a splendid victory for the British soldier. As 
Tee says, " On no occasion, in any part of the world, 
was British valor more heroically displayed." 

On the other hand, Greene, although apparently 
superior in force, had only three hundred and 
seventy-one veterans in his command — viz., the First 
Maryland, Lee's Legion, and Washington's Cavalry. 
Opposed to him was the flower of the British army, 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



225 



over two thousand strong, well disciplined, and all 
veterans of nearly five years' incessant fighting in 
America. The rest of Greene's force was militia or 
recruits now for the first time under fire. Part of 
these ran at the first shot, but another part made a 
stout resistance against the British Guards. As for 
the few veterans that Greene had, their conduct even 
excelled that of the British. Greene chose his posi- 
tion skillfully, posted his men to the best possible 
advantage, and handled them well during the course 
of the fight. He had two opportunities — one just 
after the charge of the First Maryland, and the other 
when Cornwallis prepared for a final assault, when, 
by a vigorous charge, he might perhaps have put 
Cornwallis to rout. But had he failed — and the 
chances were in favor of failure — his army would 
have been destroyed. He had previously expressed 
his firm determination never to put his army in a 
position where its total destruction was possible; 
and, though the temptation was great, he rigidly 
adhered to his decision. As for the final result, all 
the advantages were on Greene's side. He lost the 
battle but gained the campaign. He retreated a 
few miles and took up another defensive position, 
ready to accept battle again if Cornwallis offered it. 
But three days later Cornwallis began a precipiUte 
and long retreat to the seaboard. 

The news of this little battle, fought in the back- 
woods of America with a few thousand men on each 
side, created a sensation in England. Fox declared 
that "another such victory will ruin the British 
army. ... In the disproportion between the two 
armies, a victory was highly to the honor of our 
troops ; but had our army been vanquished, what 



226 GENERAL GREENE. 

course could they have taken ? Certainly they would 
have abandoned the field of action, and flown for 
refuge to the seaside— precisely the measures the vic- 
torious army was obliged to adopt." He moved that 
measures be taken immediately for concluding a 
peace. Pitt supported the motion, and affirmed that 
it was " a most accursed war, barbarous, cruel, and 
unnatural," full of " ineffective victories and se- 
vere defeats." Fox added that " we can lose noth- 
ing by a vote declaring America independent," 
for "America is lost, irretrievably lost, to this 
country." 

As for Greene himself, he was so worn out that 
he did not realize how well he had done. In his let- 
ters to Washington and Congress he claimed but 
little for himself ; he simply recited the facts, re- 
gretted that he had lost the day, and expressed his 
unabated determination to continue the struggle, 
and his " hope, by little and little, to reduce him 
[Cornwallis] in time." In truth, he had nearly 
reached the limit of physical endurance. For six 
weeks, since he left his camp on the Pedee to join 
Morgan on the Catawba, he had not taken off his 
clothes. During the four days' retreat from Guil- 
ford to the Dan he had not slept over four hours, 
and in the ten days' manoeuvring prior to the battle 
of the 15th he had hardly done better. While making 
the rounds one night during this time he found the 
colonel in command of a large outpost asleep, and 
asked him how he could sleep when he was in con- 
tact with the enemy, and might be attacked at any 
time. The ready answer was, " Why, General, we 
all knew you would be awake." But now the nerv- 
ous strain and loss of sleep began to tell upon him, 




Id,/ , *•*• ^ f ■* J 









SECOND POSITJON '^ >? W? ,j ^''o ^ "v , V^ 
- . , ? ? s^ j* (? "-'" - ■ - - ' ^-^^^ 

5 j> J ^ jj Jj3 5 

-% '•,"' oijQ? i"> 5 J i 

wl ^ii O O BftO_^ 



F'l.RST POSITION * 







BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURT HOUSE. 



Topography from Stedman\ 



A. A. British Line. 

B. B. Nortli Carolina Militia. 

C. C. Virginia muitia. 

D.D. American 3 Line or Ke 
serve of Continentals. 
BRITISH CORPS. 

b. Light Infantry of the Guards. 

c. Yagers. 

d. 33rd Regiment. 

e. 23rd Regiment. 
/. 71st Regiment. 



History of the American War. Position of Troops fron 
Johnson's Life of Greene. 



Re(i-iment of Boze. 
Grenadiers of the Guards. 
Had Bat. of the Guards. 
1st " 

Tarlton's Dragoons. 
. British Artillery. 

AMERICAN CORPS. 
Dela wares. 
I.vnch's Riflemen. 
Washington's Cavalrj'. 
American Artillery -Singleton 



. Campbell's Riflemen. 
. Infantry of the Legion, 
''avalrv of the Legion. 
'. Greene's Regiment ot Virginia 

Kegulai-s. 
. Buford's Regiment under 

Hawes. 
. 1st Maryland Reg't— Gunby. 
2ud Maryland Reg't— Ford. 



THE RETREAT TO THE DAN. 



227 



and the day after Guilford he fell over in a fainting 
fit of dizziness ; and this was repeated on the follow- 
ing days, so that he was compelled to take some 
rest; this, with his robust constitution, quickly re- 
stored him to health. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK's HILL AND THE SIEGE 
OF NINETY-SIX — 1781. 

On the i8th of March Cornwallis issued a procla- 
mation boasting of " the compleat victory obtained 
over the Rebel forces on the 15th inst.," offering a 
pardon to all the rebels who would surrender them- 
selves with their arms and ammunition, and promis- 
ing them protection in their persons and properties. 
This proceeding subjected him to considerable ridi- 
cule, for on the same day he abandoned his wounded 
in hospital and began a rapid retreat. 

In truth, Cornwallis had spent his force at Guil- 
ford. He was too weak to think of renewing the 
battle, and his army was so much in need of supplies 
of all kinds that he could not remain where he was. 
Retreat was inevitable, and his only alternative was 
between going back to South Carolina or turning 
toward the seacoast. At the outset of the campaign 
he had given orders for supplies to be sent to Wil- 
mington, and he had recently given instructions to 
have these sent up the Cape Fear River to Cross 
Creek, or Fayetteville. His nearest post in South 
Carolina was at Camden, and the distance was about 
the same as to Wilmington — one hundred and forty 
miles ; but the distance to Cross Creek was only 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



229 



about half as much, and he hoped (though he had no 
positive information) that his supplies had been sent 
up to that point. The idea of going back to South 
Carolina was intolerable to him; it would be to ac- 
knowledge the complete failure of the campaign. If 
he went to the seacoast perhaps Greene would follow 
him ; at all events, he would save appearances, and, 
after refitting his army, he could resume the of- 
fensive. He therefore decided to march to Cross 
Creek, and he put his army in motion on the after- 
noon of the i8th. Greene started in pursuit the fol- 
lowing day, sending the indefatigable Lee again in 
advance with his Legion and Campbell's Virginia 
Riflemen, and telling Lee: "I mean to fight the 
enemy again, and wish you to have your Legion and 
Riflemen ready for action on the shortest notice. If 
in the meantime you can attempt anything which 
promises an advantage, put it in execution. Lord 
Cornwallis must be soundly beaten before he will re- 
linquish his hold." Greene could not move as 
rapidly as he wished, for there were " provisions to 
draw, cartridges to make, and several other matters 
to attend to, which will oblige us to halt a little 
earlier than common " at the end of each day's 
march. Moreover, Cornwallis had a full day's start 
of him and was losing no time. Greene did not, 
therefore, come up with Cornwallis until the 28th, 
when he reached the Cape Fear River at Ramsay's 
Mills, a few hours after Cornwallis had crossed on a 
temporary bridge of his own construction. Lee was 
so close on Cornwallis's heels that the latter was un- 
able to destroy the bridge. But Greene did not 
cross, for he had other plans. Cornwallis then hur- 
ried along unmolested, reaching Cross Creek a few 



230 



GENERAL GREENE. 



days later. Here he found no provisions or signs 
of his orders having been received, and he was 
obliged to continue his march to Wilmington, arriv- 
ing there on April yth. 

Greene decided not to pursue Cornwallis any fur- 
ther. During the retreat to the Dan, Cornwallis had 
had the benefit of the initiative, but since then 
Greene had possessed this advantage and had kept 
the control of the campaign in his own hand — pur- 
suing Cornwallis only so far as he thought best, 
fighting only on ground of his own choice and at his 
own time. He did not purpose to give up this con- 
trol by following Cornwallis off to one side of the 
theatre of campaign. He stopped pursuit at Ram- 
say's Mills, and determined to carry the war into 
South Carolina. On the following day (March 29th) 
he wrote to Washington explaining his reasons for 
this course. He was " remote from re-enforcements, 
inferior to the enemy in numbers," and had "no 
prospect of support." By going to South Carolina 
he would force Cornwallis to follow him, and thus 
give up the contest in North Carolina, or else lose 
his posts in South Carolina. He considered the 
movement warranted by the soundest reasons, both 
political and military ; and while it would be critical 
and dangerous, and subject the troops to every hard- 
ship, yet, as he shared this with them, he hoped they 
would " bear up under it with that magnanimity 
which has already supported them, and for which 
they deserve everything of their country." He wrote 
to Sumter to the same effect on March 30th, and to 
Steuben and Lafayette on April 2d. 

There is no doubt that his resolution was as sound 
as it was bold, and it resulted in the brilliant success 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



231 



which it deserved.* Having made his decision, 
Greene at once undertook the necessary prepara- 
tions to carry it into effect. First of all, he had to 
send off all the Virginia militia. These men had en- 
listed for six weeks, and they claimed that their time 
should count from the day of enlistment at their 
homes to the date of discharge, also at their homes. 
They insisted, during his march to Ramsay's Mills, 
on being sent back at once, so as to reach Virginia 
before their time was up. Greene had managed to 
hold them, as he hoped every day to overtake Corn- 
wallis and bring him to battle, but when he gave up 
the pursuit this was no longer possible. He there- 
fore sent them off on April 2d. They had joined 
him on March loth, and were present with the army 
only twenty-three days. The North Carolina militia 
had fled at the battle of Guilford, and only a small 
part of them had since returned. Greene's army 
was thus reduced to the four Continental regiments, 
two of Virginia and two of Maryland, Lee's Legion, 
Washington's Cavalry, and Campbell's Riflemen, num- 
bering in all fourteen hundred and fifty men. With 
these he intended to move as rapidly and secretly as 
possible on Camden, which was at the center of the 
British line of posts in South Carolina. At the same 
time he planned to secure the co-operation of the 

* Greene consulted Lee concerning his plan of operations, and 
probably referred to the Second Punic War and the famous " carry- 
ing the war into Africa." Lee replied on April 2d : " I am de- 
cidedly of opinion with you that nothing is left for you but to 
imitate the example of Scipio Africanus " In his funeral eulogy 
on Greene, Hamilton says : " This was one of those strokes that 
denote superior genius and constitute the sublime of war. 'Twas 
Scipio leaving Hannibal in Italy to overcome him at Carthage." 



232 GENERAL GREENE. 

partisan corps of Marion, Pickens, and Sumter in 
his effort to reconquer South Carolina. Sumter had 
been disabled by a wound in an engagement with 
Tarleton in the previous month of November. But 
he had recovered in January, and during Greene's 
retreat to the Dan he had been collecting his follow- 
ers on the Broad River. Greene directed him to be 
prepared to join the main body at Camden. Pickens, 
as we have seen, had been with Lee when Pyle's de- 
tachment was destroyed on February 25th, but a few 
days later he had been detached, and had returned 
to his old recruiting ground in the western part of 
South Carolina. He was now directed to advance 
against Ninety-Six, and either attack that post, or at 
least prevent its garrison from marching to the re- 
lief of Camden. Marion, assisted by Lee, had been 
engaged in an expedition against Georgetown in 
January, when Greene began his retreat. It then 
became necessary to recall Lee, and Marion's own 
followers were not sufficient to keep up the contest 
alone. They were therefore forced to retreat into 
their hiding places in the swamps along the Black 
River, where they had since remained. Marion was 
now instructed to attack the posts along the Santee 
between Camden and Charleston. 

In brief, then, Greene was to attack the center of 
the line of posts with his main body of four small 
Continental regiments; to threaten the left flank at 
Nmety-Six with Pickens's partisans, and the right 
flank between Camden and Charleston with those 
of Marion. The campaign was planned as accurate- 
ly and elaborately, and the issue at stake was as great, 
as if the contending forces were great armies; yet 
Greene had less than fifteen hundred men in his main 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



233 



body, and his partisans on either flank were num- 
bered onl}^ by hundreds. It is true that he had hopes 
of re-enforcements. He had written to Governor 
Jefferson, of Virginia, asking for fifteen hundred 
militia to take the place of those who had fought 
so well at Guilford, but had made so short a stay 
in his army ; he had heard also that General Gist 
was on his way southward with recruits for the Dela- 
ware and Maryland line. Lafayette had recently 
come to Virginia with twelve hundred men, and he, 
as well as Steuben, was under Greene's orders. But 
it was more difficult for them to communicate with 
Greene than with the Northern headquarters, and 
they received their orders direct from Washington, 
or acted on their own responsibility. Wayne was 
now on his way with the Pennsylvania line to re- 
enforce Lafayette. The possibility of all these 
troops joining Greene was discussed in his letters 
to Lafayette and Steuben, and both were personally 
anxious to march southward. But it was necessary 
at all hazards to preserve intact his line of commu- 
nications through Virginia, against which Clinton 
had just sent his third expedition, under Phillips. 
Greene therefore had no definite expectations of re- 
enforcements. He knew that he must rely on his 
small Continental force, and such assistance as he 
could derive from the roving bands of partisans and 
the local militia that could be raised in the two 
Carolinas. 

On the 6th of April he began his march, sending 
Lee, with the Legion, re-enforced by Oldham's com- 
pany of the Second Maryland, toward Cross Creek, 
and marching with the main body almost due west 
on the road to Charlotte. His instructions to Lee 
16 



234 



GENERAL GREENE. 



gave that officer great latitude, but their general 
intent was to use the Legion as a cover between 
Cornwallis and himself (in the same way that it had 
been used on the retreat to the Dan) in case Corn- 
wallis followed Greene into South Carolina — a course 
which Greene expected and somewhat desired that 
Cornwallis would follow. Lee was therefore to follow 
the road to Cross Creek so far as he thought proper 
in order to give Cornwallis the idea that Greene was 
pursuing him ; then he was to turn abruptly to the 
west, and, keeping on Greene's left flank, to advance 
with him to the line of the Santee and attack or 
threaten the post of Fort Watson, about fifty miles 
below Camden. In case Cornwallis pursued, Lee 
was to keep close to the main body ; otherwise he 
was to use his own discretion as to the point of 
crossing the Pedee and approaching the Santee. 
Cornwallis made no effort at pursuit, and Lee there- 
fore kept well to the eastward, quite out of communi- 
cation with Greene, crossed the Pedee near its mouth 
at Georgetown, and put himself in communication 
with Marion, with whom he effected a junction on 
the 14th of April, after a march of one hundred and 
sixty miles accomplished in eight days. Marion had 
four hundred followers, and Lee brought him about 
three hundred good troops. Together they laid 
siege to Fort Watson on the 15th. This was one of 
a series of small posts extending along the line of 
the Santee, from Camden to Georgetown, and cover- 
ing the communications with Charleston, which was 
the headquarters of the British army in the South. 
These posts consisted of Camden, garrisoned by nine 
hundred men, under Lord Rawdon ; Fort Motte, at 
the point where the Congaree and Wateree unite to 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



235 



form the Santee, garrisoned by one hundred and 
fifty men under Lieutenant McPherson ; Fort Wat- 
son, about thirty miles below Fort Motte, garrisoned 
by one hundred and twenty men under Lieutenant 
McKay ; and a small force at Georgetown, at the 
mouth of the Pedee. On the west of these was an- 
other line, consisting of Augusta, occupied by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Brown with six hundred and thirty 
men; Ninety-Six, with Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger 
and five hundred and fifty men ; Fort Granby, near 
the site of the present city of Columbia, where the 
Broad and Saluda join and become the Congaree, 
garrisoned by sixty regulars and two hundred and 
eighty loyalists under Major Maxwell ; and Orange- 
burg, south of Fort Granby and west of Fort Wat- 
son, occupied by three hundred and fifty men. In 
addition to the garrisons of these eight small posts, 
a large force was stationed in Charleston. The total 
effective force in South Carolina on May i, 1781, 
according to the returns in the British Record Office, 
was seventy-two hundred and fifty-four. They were 
spread over a tract one hundred and sixty miles 
long and fifty miles wide. It was against these that 
Greene was advancing with his fifteen hundred Con- 
tinentals and their partisan allies. 

Fort Watson consisted of a stockade built on an 
Indian mound, about thirty-five feet high, on the 
bluff of the Santee River. It was garrisoned by 
eighty regulars and forty loyalists under Lieutenant 
McKay. Neither the garrison nor the assailants had 
any artillery. Marion summoned McKay to sur- 
render on the 15th, and McKay promptly refused to 
do so. Marion then cut off his communications with 
a neighboring lake from which McKay derived his 



236 GENERAL GREENE. 

supply of water, and completely surrounded the 
stockade. But McKay dug a deep well within the 
fort from which to get a fresh supply of water, and 
he was well stocked with provisions. As Marion had 
no artillery, he was at a loss to see how to make 
any impression on the garrison. Whereupon one of 
his officers, a Colonel Maham, suggested a device 
similar to those employed in the time of Csesar. 
The surrounding country was heavily wooded, and 
Marion's men were good backwoodsmen. They 
promptly set to work with the axes which were 
gathered from neighboring farms, and after they had 
cut a sufficient amount of timber a large force of the 
besiegers was employed one night in bringing it up 
on their shoulders to the immediate vicinity of the 
stockade ; and there a high wooden tower was erected 
during the night, completely dominating the interior 
of the stockade. When day broke on the morning 
of April 23d the garrison was treated to a fusillade 
fired from the top of this tower by a picked detach- 
ment of skilled marksmen selected from Lee's Le- 
gion. Under cover of this fire a breach was made 
in the stockade. McKay saw that resistance was 
useless, and at once surrendered his entire garrison. 
Marion had lost only two killed and six wounded. 

But he had lost eight important days at this 
place, and time v/as precious. On the one hand, 
Greene must now be approaching Camden, and 
Marion was anxious to join him. On the other 
hand, Colonel Watson with five hundred men had 
been detached from Camden a few weeks before and 
sent down to find and punish Marion in the vicinity 
of Georgetown. Marion had eluded him by first 
retiring into the swamps, and then joining Lee and 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



237 



marching to Fort Watson, Rawdon, having heard of 
Greene's approach, had recalled Watson in all haste, 
and the latter was now moving back from George- 
town toward Camden. Marion had heard of this, 
and was determined, if possible, to intercept Watson 
and prevent him from re-enforcing Rawdon. For 
this purpose he moved to the High Hills of Santee, 
whence he could throw himself in front of Watson 
by whatever route he approached. Watson, on the 
other hand, was equally determined to avoid Marion. 
Finding the route blocked on the east side of the 
Santee, he returned nearly to its mouth, crossed, and 
made a wide detour to the left, reaching the river 
again at Fort Motte and joining Rawdon on May 
7th. In the meantime the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, 
or Camden, had been fought. 

Greene, as before stated, left his camp at Ram- 
say's Mills, on Deep River, on the same day as Lee — 
April 6th. He reached the Pedee, at the mouth of 
the Yadkin, on April nth. There he was detained 
three days in getting boats to cross. Then he 
moved south to Camden, and arrived there on the 
20th. He had not overtaxed his men, for he wished 
to bring them before Camden in good order. Still, 
he had marched one hundred and forty miles in 
fourteen days, three of which had been lost in col- 
lecting boats. He had hoped to surprise Rawdon, 
but the inhabitants gave word of his approach, and 
this was impossible. He reconnoitered the works 
with a view to making an assault, but he found them 
too strong, and he therefore fell back to a wooded 
slope known as Hobkirk's Hill, about two miles 
north of the town, and there selected a defensive 
position. He was in hopes that Rawdon would come 



238 GENERAL GREENE. 

out to attack him ; if not, he would observe the place 
and attack any troops moving into or out of it. 

Camden had now been occupied by the British for 
nearly a year, and during that time they had con- 
structed fortifications of considerable importance. 
The village lay in open ground, about two miles 
wide, inclosed on the east and south by Pine Tree 
Creek, and on the south and west by the Wateree 
River. In the center was a large stockade, and out- 
side of this was a line of strong independent redoubts 
curving around from river to creek. The garrison 
(after Watson had been detached) consisted of nine 
hundred men, under Lord Rawdon, and some loyal- 
ist militia, which came in just before Greene arrived. 

Greene had sent over three hundred men with 
Lee, and had lost a few by sickness on the march ; 
so that the force which he brought to Camden num- 
bered only eleven hundred and seventy-four Conti- 
nentals and two hundred and fifty-four North Caro- 
lina militia, who had just joined him. He sent or- 
ders to Sumter to collect all his adherents along the 
Broad River and its branches and be ready to join 
him at Camden. But Sumter was less fond of com- 
plying with orders than of conducting an independ- 
ent raid. Instead of coming to Camden, he moved 
independently against Fort Granby, and, far from 
aiding Greene, the result of his movements was to 
increase Rawdon's strength at Camden by driving 
the loyalist militia to that point. 

On the evening of April 21st, the day after Greene 
arrived in front of Camden, he heard a rumor that 
Watson was returning to join Rawdon, and he there- 
fore moved a few miles to the eastward in order to 
intercept Watson. As he had to cross a marshy 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



239 



creek, the two pieces of artillery which he had re- 
cently received from Virginia, and his baggage, were 
sent under charge of Colonel Carrington and the 
North Carolina militia to get around this miarsh by 
making a detour of twenty miles to the north. On 
the 23d he received more accurate information, and 
returned to his position in front of Camden, sending 
word to Carrington to rejoin him at once. His force 
was posted in a defensive position on the brow of 
Hobkirk's Hill, the two Virginia regiments on the 
right of the Charlotte road, the two Maryland regi- 
ments on the left, and the two guns in the center. The 
North Carolina militia was in rear, and Washington's 
Cavalry supported the right flank. Kirkwood's Dela- 
ware battalion formed the outpost stationed at the 
foot of the hill, about five hundred yards in advance 
of the line. In this position the men camped and 
slept, ready to take arms at a moment's notice. On 
the night of the 24th one of the men deserted, and 
told Rawdon that Greene's artillery and militia had 
been sent to the rear. Rawdon thought it a judi- 
cious moment to attack, especially as he feared that 
Marion and Lee might join Greene any day. At 
nine o'clock on the morning of the 25th, therefore, 
he sallied out with every man in the garrison that 
could carry a musket — about nine hundred in all. 
He moved through the woods along the swamps of 
Pine Tree Creek, as the approach to Hobkirk's Hill 
was easiest from that direction. About ten o'clock 
he came upon Kirkwood's pickets, who fell back on 
the main body of the outpost and retreated skirmish- 
ing up the hill. 

Greene's men had received some supplies that 
morning. These were being issued, and the men 



240 GENERAL GREENE. 

were washing their clothes, when the alarm was given 
by the firing of the pickets. The men were called in 
and quickly formed in position, so that they were 
ready to receive Rawdon by the time he reached the 
hill — about ii a. m. After driving Kirkwood back, 
Rawdon deployed his force in line, the Sixty-third 
Foot, supported by the Volunteers of Ireland (Raw- 
don's own regiment) on the right ; the King's Amer- 
ican Regiment, supported by Captain Robertson's 
detachment, on the left ; and the New York Volun- 
teers in the center. The South Carolina regiment 
and a detachment of cavalry was in the rear. In 
this formation he advanced slowly up the slope, 
Greene watched the formation, and, thinking that it 
presented a narrow front, he determined not to wait 
on the defensive, but to make a counter attack in- 
stantly. He therefore directed Campbell, with the 
First Virginia, on his right, to wheel to the left, so as 
to envelop Rawdon's left flank, and Ford, with the 
Second Maryland, to make a similar movement on 
his left ; he also ordered the two remaining regi- 
ments in the center to advance with the bayonet, 
and Washington's Cavalry to make a charge around 
Campbell's right. The artillery meanwhile opened 
with grape. These manoeuvres were somewhat com- 
plicated for troops most of whom had had so little 
experience. Still, they were executed with tolerable 
precision, and a vigorous engagement was soon 
brought on. It resulted in Rawdon's left flank be- 
ginning to retire, and his center to waver. Washing- 
ton's charge was most successful, and he penetrated 
to Rawdon's rear and took two hundred prisoners, 
including all the surgeons in the army. Everything 
was tending to a brilliant victory for Greene, when 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



241 



Captain Beatty, of the famous First Maryland, was 
killed. This caused his company to halt and then 
to fall back in disorder. In order to retrieve this, 
Colonel Gunby ordered the entire regiment to fall 
back with the intention of reforming their line. But 
once the retreat began it was impossible to stop it, 
and this regiment, which was the pride and boast of 
the army, and had done such splendid service on so 
many fields, now broke and ran. The panic was 
communicated to the Second Maryland, and leaving 
its commander. Colonel Ford, mortally wounded, it 
also left the field in disorder. Seeing this, Rawdon's 
line quickly rallied and pushed forward in pursuit, 
turning the left flank of the Second Regiment under 
Hawes. Greene saw that there was no hope of sav- 
ing the day, and bent his whole energy to making an 
orderly retreat and saving his artillery. This was 
accomplished by Washington's cavalry, which re- 
turned from its charge, and, abandoning its prison- 
ers, rushed into the melee which was in progress 
around the guns, and stayed the advance of the 
British long enough for the guns to be withdrawn 
and the army to effect its retreat under cover of 
Hawes's regiment. Greene retreated in good order 
for about five miles, and took up a new position in 
which to receive an attack. But Rawdon did not 
attempt any pursuit. 

The losses on the American side were nineteen 
killed, one hundred and fifteen wounded, and one 
hundred and thirty-six missing — total, two hundred 
and seventy ; on the British side, two hundred and 
fifty-eight, of whom thirty-eight were killed. 

Greene took his defeat much to heart. It seemed 
as if he were fated never to win a battle. But he had 



242 



GENERAL GREENE. 



no idea of giving up the struggle. To the French 
Minister (Luzerne) he wrote : " We fight, get beat, 
rise, and fight again";* and in his orders for the 
day following the battle the parole was " Persevere," 
and the countersign was " Fortitude." 

Greene attributed his defeat to the action of 
Colonel Gunby, and time only confirmed him in this 
opinion. Months afterward he wrote, in a personal 
letter to his friend Reed, of Pennsylvania, that 
Rawdon and his whole command would have been 
made prisoners in three minutes more if Gunby had 
not ordered his regiment to retire; and he added: 
" I was almost frantic with vexation at the disap- 
pointment." In his order to the army the day after 
the battle he complimented several organizations, 
and then added : " Our loss is so inconsiderable that 
it is only to be lamented that the troops were not 
unanimous of a disposition to embrace so excellent 
an opportunity of gaining a victory." This pointed 
allusion caused Gunby to apply immediately for a 
court of inquiry. It made its report on May 2d, and, 
after reciting the facts, stated that " it appears from 
the above report that Colonel Gunby 's spirit and 
activity were unexceptionable. But his order for the 
regiment to retire, which broke the line, was ex- 

* Greene's main object, in his correspondence with Luzerne, was 
to persuade him to put into active service the French army of five 
thousand men which now for nearly a year had been cooped up in 
Newport, doing nothing. If these joined Washington, doubtless 
a re-enforcement could be spared for Greene. Luzerne wrote a 
flattering reply to the letter from which the above extract is made, 
but it contained nothing more definite than this : " Be assured that 
his Majesty will think his troops well employed in co-operating 
with a general who has effected such great things with such inferior 




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BATTLE OF 
HOBKIKK'S HILL. 

Topography from Steilman's History of 

th« American War. Position oi: 

Troops from Johnson's Life 

of Greene. 

SCALE OF YARDS 

100 aOO 300 •J<X» 600 10< 



1 O <-J '^' 

REFERENCE. 

1. British Line. 

2. '■ Supports. 

3. " Reserve. 

4. " Skirmishers. 
&, <i, 7, 8. American 

Line. 

5. Campbell. 

6. Haws. 

7. Gunby. 

8. Ford. 

9. Smith. 

10. WashinKton's 
Cavalry. 

11. North Carolma 
Militia. 

C. American Camp. 



S> o ^' ^ c< '/*■ 

> J- I? s> A ,-, " ; 

9 (J 9 q./M ^ 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL 



243 



tremely improper and unmilitary, and in all proba- 
bility the only cause why we did not obtain a com- 
plete victory." 

Greene remained for two days in the position he 
had chosen just after the battle, and then retired ten 
miles farther north to Rugely's Mill. On the 7th of 
May, Watson succeeded in making his way into 
Camden, and with this large re-enforcement Rawdon 
again moved out to attack Greene ; but the latter 
marched to the west side of the Wateree and ma- 
noeuvred for two days until he occupied a position 
where he was willing to fight. Rawdon reconnoitered 
this position and deemed it too strong for attack ; 
he therefore returned to Camden. In the mean- 
time Marion and Lee had been sent to besiege Fort 
Motte, and Sumter was operating against Fort Gran- 
by and Orangeburg. Rawdon at Camden was com- 
pletely surrounded, his communications with Charles- 
ton were interrupted, and his supply trains were 
being captured. It was difificult to obtain provisions 
in the neighboring country, and he saw that he would 
soon be cut off and starved out. On the loth, there- 
fore, he abandoned Camden, burned such stores as 
he could not carry, and began his retreat to Charles- 
ton. On the nth Sumter captured Orangeburg; on 
the i2th Marion took Fort Motte; on the 15th Fort 
Granby surrendered to Lee. Early in June Marion 
entered Georgetown, the garrison escaping to Charles- 
ton. The whole eastern line of posts thus went down 
with a crash within a month from the time that 
Greene crossed the South Carolina line. He had 
captured four posts with their garrisons, amounting 
to over eight hundred men, and had driven the Brit- 
ish back to the vicinity of Charleston. He had lost 



244 



GENERAL GREENE. 



the principal battle, but his movements were so well 
planned that again, as at Guilford, he had gained all 
the objects of the campaign. 

Meanwhile, where was Cornwallis ? As already 
stated, he reached Wilmington on April 7th. On his 
retreat he had feared that possibly Greene might go 
into South Carolina, and he had therefore sent mes- 
sages to Rawdon from Cross Creek to be on the 
lookout for him. On the 22d a small vessel arrived 
from Charleston, bringing him news which confirmed 
his worst fears. Greene had marched into South 
Carolina, was already approaching Camden, and the 
upper posts were all in danger on account of the 
uprising of the people. There is something almost 
comical in the way in which Cornwallis complained 
of being outmanoeuvred. To Phillips, in Virginia, 
he wrote, April 24th : " My situation here is very dis- 
tressing. Greene took the advantage of my being 
obliged to come to this place, and has marched to 
South Carolina." Greene had indeed taken advan- 
tage of the misfortunes of his adversary, as skillful 
generals usually do ; he had manoeuvred him out of 
the theatre of operations, and had then quickly gone 
to attack his posts. The question with Cornwallis 
was, What should he do ? Should he follow Greene 
into South Carolina? or should he march north to 
join the British troops at the mouth of the Chesa- 
peake ? He decided to march north. 

This decision had a most important bearing on 
the termination of the war, and it gave rise in after 
years to an elaborate and acrimonious discussion 
between Clinton and Cornwallis. Clinton maintained 
that his written instructions of June ist and Novem- 
ber 6, 1780, positively enjoined upon Cornwallis the 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



245 



protection of Charleston, and forbade any movement 
to the north until the two Carolinas were entirely 
subjugated; and then the movement, if any, was to 
be by vessel to the Chesapeake, there to act in con- 
cert with Clinton on the Delaware in an expedition 
against Philadelphia. He contended that Cornwallis 
by his first move into North Carolina, and still more 
by his march to Virginia, violated the letter and 
spirit of his orders, and in so doing brought about 
the disaster at Yorktown and the ruin of British af- 
fairs in America. In Clinton's opinion, Cornwallis 
should have retreated to Camden immediately after 
the battle of Guilford; having failed to do so then, 
he should have done so from Wilmington, when he 
heard that Greene was approaching Camden. 

Cornwallis does not seem to have taken his in- 
structions so literally, but rather to have considered 
himself as having more latitude in his separate com- 
mand, hundreds of miles away from the commander 
in chief, and unable to communicate with him and 
get a reply in less than two to three months. He 
contended that it was necessary for him to act on 
his own judgment ; that he was compelled to fall 
back to Wilmington to refit his army ; that it was 
impossible for him to reach Rawdon in time to be of 
any assistance ; and that he thought he could be of 
most service in uniting his force, now reduced to 
fifteen hundred men, with that which had recently 
been sent to the Chesapeake under Phillips. This 
was the position he maintained in the pamphlets 
with which he and Clinton pelted each other on 
their return to England after the close of the war. 

It is out of place in a biography of Greene to go 
into the details of this interesting controversy. It 



246 GENERAL GREENE. 

may be remarked, however, that one of the reasons 
which Cornwallis gives for not marching back to 
South Carolina was as follows: "I did not think 
that I could, with thirteen hundred infantry and two 
hundred cavalry, undertake such a march, and the 
passage of two such rivers as the Pedee and Santee, 
without exposing the corps under my command to 
the utmost hazard of disgrace and ruin." Yet 
Greene made just such a march, with a smaller 
force, not so well equipped, and at the end of it at- 
tacked and broke up a line of posts garrisoned by 
nearly twice his numbers. Cornwallis would not 
have hesitated to attempt this march, or one even 
more hazardous, had it followed the line of glory 
instead of that of disgrace. To go back to South 
Carolina was to acknowledge himself beaten and his 
campaign a failure ; and this was doubtless the main 
reason why he marched north. Nevertheless, there 
was a fair chance of success in Virginia; and had he 
beaten Washington at Yorktown, he would have over- 
run Virginia and cut off all Greene's communications 
with the north, thus strangling his Southern cam- 
paign. Greene saw this clearly. He expected and 
hoped that Cornwallis would follow him; and when 
he learned that he had gone to Virginia he seriously 
meditated on two separate occasions — the first, after 
the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, and the second after 
the siege of Ninety-Six — leaving Huger in command 
in South Carolina to hold his own on the defensive 
as best he could, while he [Greene] went to Virginia 
to take command in person of the troops under La- 
fayette and Steuben, and with them fight Cornwallis.* 

* His instructions from Congress and from Washington, both 
at the beginning of the campaign and subsequently, fully author- 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



247 



So important did Greene consider his line of com- 
munications through Virginia. Without aid from the 
North — as he was now writmg incessantly to Wash- 
ington, Lafayette, Luzerne, the President of Con- 
gress, Governor Reed, and others — he felt that his 
little army could not much longer sustain itself; 
and if that failed, the partisans and militia would 
soon disband and the Southern States be hopelessly 
lost, Washington entertained the same opinion, and 
determined to drive the British out of Virginia the 
moment he succeeded in getting the co-operation of 
the French army at Newport. It would seem, there- 
fore, that Cornwallis's fault was not so much in 
marching to Virginia as in being beaten after he got 
there. Why he was beaten in Virginia, and whether 
he or Clinton was' responsible for it, can not be dis- 
cussed here. 

As soon as Rawdon began his retreat toward 
Charlestoa, Greene made his preparations for mov- 
ing against Ninety-Six. They were slightly delayed 
by the sensibilities of his partisan chiefs. Sumter 
made a written protest against the taking of Fort 
Granby by Lee, asserting that he had been at great 
pains to reduce the post, that it was in his power to 

ized this. His command reached from Delaware to Georgia, and 
all operations in these six States were under his control. As late 
as April and May, 1781, Washington continued to direct Lafayette 
and Steuben to act under Greene's orders, and they were in con- 
stant communication with him. The delays in this communica- 
tion, however, were so great that Greene usually left them to act 
on their own discretion. But early in May, when Greene learned 
definitely that Comwallis was marching to Virginia, he sent orders 
to Lafayette, who was then preparing to march to South Carolina, 
to remain in Virginia ; and also to halt the Pennsylvania line under 
Wayne when it arrived, and with them to oppose Comwallis. 



248 GENERAL GREENE. 

do it, and he thought it "for the good of the public 
to do it without regulars." Greene replied that Lee 
had acted in accordance with his orders. Where- 
upon Sumter tendered his resignation, but Greene 
wrote him a flattering letter and declined to accept 
it. Marion also was offended. There had been 
much controversy about the impressment of horses. 
On the one hand, people in Virginia complained 
that Greene's officers were carrying off their stallions 
and brood mares, and the Legislature took up their 
complaint and directed the return of all such animals, 
and of all geldings worth more than ^5,000 (in paper 
currency). Greene protested through Jefferson that 
a horse worth less than ^^5,000 would be useless to 
carry a dragoon, and the act was repealed.* On the 
other hand, Greene had great difficulty in getting 
mounts for his cavalry, and Lee wrote him that 
Marion's men were not only all well mounted, but 
had horses to spare. Greene called upon Marion to 
furnish them. Marion took offense at the tone of 
the letter, offered to dismount his own men, and 
asked leave to retire to Philadelphia, alleging as a 
reason that his men could never be depended upon. 
Greene replied in excellent temper, alternately prais- 
ing Marion's past services and appealing to his 
patriotism. " It is true your task has been disagree- 
able, but not more so than others'. It is now going 
on seven years since the commencement of the war ; 
I have never had leave of absence an hour, or paid 
the least attention to my own private affairs. Your 
State is invaded; your all is at stake; what has 
been done will signify nothing unless we persevere 

* Tarleton and Simcoe soon afterward raided through Virginia 
and carried off all the best horses, regardless of their value. 



THE BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



249 



to the end. I left a wife in distress, and everything 
dear and valuable, to come and afford you all the 
assistance in my power ; and if you leave us in the 
midst of our difficulties, while you have it so much 
in your power to promote the service, it must throw 
a damper on the spirits of the army to find the first 
men in the State are retiring from the busy scene to 
indulge themselves in more agreeable amusements." 
Marion yielded to this appeal, and remained with 
the army till the last British soldier had left the 
United States. 

Having adjusted these matters, Greene put his 
little force in motion toward Ninety-Six and Augusta, 
the only posts in the interior of the State now re- 
maining in British possession. On the i6th of May 
he sent Lee with the Legion against Augusta, and 
this officer with his usual energy marched over one 
hundred miles in four days, and reached the banks 
of the Savannah River on the 19th. Greene started 
with the main body on the 17th, and five days later 
arrived in front of Ninety-Six. Numerous messen- 
gers had been sent by Rawdon to Colonel Cruger, at 
Ninety-Six, directing him to abandon his post and 
retire to Augusta, there joining his force to that of 
Colonel Browne, and subsequently acting on his dis- 
cretion ; but these messengers had all been inter- 
cepted, and Cruger had no very definite information 
of what had taken place in and around Camden in 
the last three weeks except such as he had been able 
to gain from an American militia officer who had 
been captured. He therefore remained at Ninety- 
Six, and employed his entire force in strengthening 
its fortifications, in the anticipation that Greene 
would probably besiege it. 
17 



250 



GENERAL GREENE. 



On approaching the Savannah River, Lee learned 
that the annual presents for the Indians were being 
transported up the river and had reached a point 
about twelve miles below Augusta, called Fort 
Galpin, where they were guarded by two companies 
from the garrison of Augusta. The presents con- 
sisted of powder, ball, small arms, rum, salt, blankets, 
and other articles of which the Americans were much 
in need. Against this place Lee employed the well- 
known stratagem of which the first recorded use is by 
Joshua at the attack of Ai in 145 1 b. c. Concealing 
the greater part of his force in the vicinity of the 
stockade, he sent a small body to attack it on the 
opposite side. The defenders rushed out to drive 
off or capture this small force, and, as it retreated, 
the main force charged into the stockade and took 
possession of it. In this manner Lee not only cap- 
tured all of these valuable stores, but the entire 
garrison of one hundred and twenty-six men ; his 
own loss was only one man, who was overcome by 
the heat. After resting only a few hours he pressed 
on later in the same day (May 21st) toward Augusta, 
approaching it from the west, and joining on his 
way the militia of Pickens and Clarke, who had been 
assembling in this vicinity. 

Augusta was then a small village, and its de- 
fenses consisted of Fort Cornwallis, a stockade in the 
middle of the village, garrisoned by five hundred 
and fifty men, mostly regulars, under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Browne ; and another stockade called Fort 
Grierson, situated about half a mile up the river, 
and defended by eighty Tory militia. Lee sum- 
moned Browne to surrender, and this being con- 
temptuously refused, he surrounded Fort Grierson. 



THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. 



251 



The garrison attempted to escape to Fort Cornwal- 
lis, and as soon as they came out of their stockade 
nearly half of them, includmg Lieutenant-Colonel 
Grierson and the major, were killed by the Georgia 
militia, who were exceedingly bitter on account of 
the cruelties which they and their families had suf- 
fered from the Tories. Several of the others were 
wounded and taken prisoners, and a few only man- 
aged to make good their escape. 

Lee and Pickens then closed in around FortCorn- 
wallis ; but Browne made a good defense. On three 
successive nights he made vigorous sallies, and by 
means of mines he blew up one of the houses which 
he supposed was occupied by the besiegers. Recourse 
was then had by Lee to the Maham tower, which 
had been so successfully used at Fort Watson, and 
this time it was built strong enough to hold a six- 
pounder on its top. This completely dominated the 
fort and dismounted its two guns. A renewed de- 
mand being made for surrender, it was finally agreed 
to, and on June 5th the garrison marched out and 
laid down its arms. Leaving Pickens to dispose of 
the stores, Lee set out on the following morning to 
join Greene at Ninety-Six, arriving there on June 
8th. Pickens followed a few days later. 

Greene, with his so-called army, consisting of the 
four Continental regiments, two from Virginia and 
two from Maryland, the remnants of Kirkwood's 
Delaware battalion, and one from North Carolina, 
numbering in all, according to the May returns, nine 
hundred and eighty-four men, had left the vicinity 
of Camden on May 17th and arrived in front of 
Ninety-Six on the 22d. This place derived its name 
from being ninety-six miles from Keowee, the prin- 



252 GENERAL GREENE. 

cipal village of the Cherokees. It was a frontier 
post, consisting originally of a stockade for defense 
against the Indians; but during the last year ad- 
ditional works had been planned under direction of 
Lieutenant Haldane, of the Royal Engineers, an 
aid-de-camp on Cornwallis's staff. These had only 
been partially completed in the spring of J781, but 
when Greene approached Camden, Cruger laid waste 
the surrounding country, which was one of great fer- 
tility, and, calling in all the slaves, set them to work 
night and day on the defenses. On the west of the 
village stockade there was a spring and rivulet from 
which the garrison obtained its supply of water. To 
protect this, the jail, which stood just within the 
stockade, was strengthened and put in condition for 
defense ; and on a slight eminence across the rivulet 
a stockaded fort was built, inclosing two block- 
houses. This fort and the jail completely command- 
ed every point from which water was taken. On the 
east of the village a redoubt was built about seventy 
yards in diameter, with sixteen salient and re-entrant 
angles, giving cross-fire on every point of approach. 
From its shape, this was called the Star. Around 
this a ditch was dug, the bottom of which was twelve 
feet below the parapet of the redoubt. This ditch 
was continued with less depth around the entire vil- 
lage stockade, and it was protected with fraise and 
abatis. A covered way connected the stockade fort 
and the village stockade, and this in turn connected 
with the Star redoubt, so that there was covered com- 
munication from one end of the defenses to the other. 
Three pieces of light artillery, one six-pounder and 
two four-pounders, were within the Star, and plat- 
forms had been built at several points along its para- 



THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. 



253 



pet, to which the guns could be moved as required. 
The garrison consisted of one battalion of De Lan- 
cey's Loyalists, of New York, the Second Battalion of 
New Jersey Volunteers, and a body of South Caro- 
lina Tories. They numbered five hundred and fifty 
men in all, and those from New York and New Jersey 
had been enlisted at the beginning of the war and 
had been in active service ever since. The com- 
manding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel John H. 
Cruger, of New York. 

During the 22d, Greene, accompanied by Colonel 
Kosciusko, his chief engineer, made a careful recon- 
noissance completely around the enemy's works. He 
found them so strong that, as he wrote to Lafayette 
the next day, success with his small force was almost 
impossible. Yet he determined to make a vigorous 
effort. During the evening his little force was posted 
at four points, so as practically to surround the gar- 
rison and prevent any escape. During the night, 
which was dark and rainy, Kosciusko broke ground 
for his first parallels at seventy yards from the Star 
redoubt. When Cruger saw this in the morning he 
determined to punish such an insult, and he ordered 
a sally with one company under Lieutenant Roney, 
protected by the fire of the three guns and all the 
infantry of the garrison. It was entirely successful, 
broke up the intrenching party, captured their tools, 
destroyed the work which they had done, and escaped 
back to the redoubt before the supporting parties 
could come to their assistance. On the following 
night ground was again broken for the first parallel, 
but this time at a distance of four hundred yards. 
The work was continued vigorously night and day, 
in spite of constant and vigorous but unsuccessful 



254 GENERAL GREENE. 

sorties on the part of the garrison. A mine was 
begun from the end of the first parallel, and a bat- 
tery built in the second; the second parallel was 
completed on June 3d, and the garrison was then 
formally summoned to surrender. Cruger rejected 
the summons, and the third parallel was begun, its 
progress being greatly assisted by resorting to the 
now familiar device of the Maham tower. 

While the siege was in progress Marion was oper- 
ating in the lower districts. He procured the Charles- 
ton papers of June 2d, and his messengers covered 
the two hundred miles to Ninety-Six in four days 
and placed these papers in Greene's hands on the 
night of the 6th. They contained the worst possible 
news. The long-expected re-enforcements from Ire- 
land had arrived, and Greene knew that Rawdon 
would now soon be marching against him. Rawdon , 
had retreated after the evacuation of Camden and 
the loss of his other posts to the vicinity of Charles- 
ton, and was there awaiting these re-enforcements, 
which consisted of the Third, Nineteenth, and Thir- 
tieth Regiments of foot, a detachment of the Guards, 
and a considerable body of recruits. After his ar- 
rival in Virginia Cornwallis had sent a dispatch boat 
to Charleston with orders to Rawdon not to let these 
re-enforcements cross the bar, but to turn them 
northward to Virginia the moment they were sighted. 
Unfortunately for Greene, this dispatch boat was 
captured by an American privateer, and Rawdon did 
not receive these orders until after he had marched 
to the interior with these re-enforcements. On his 
side, Greene was also expecting the re-enforcements 
of Virginia militia, which he had asked for in March, 
when the six weeks' militia had gone home. He had 



THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. 



255 



asked for fifteen hundred, and Jefferson had ordered 
out two thousand. After long delays and innumer- 
able difficulties, Steuben had finally collected about 
five hundred and fifty men, and he was impatient to 
march with them to Greene's assistance. They were 
just starting during the latter part of May, when 
they were recalled by Jefferson in consequence of 
Cornwallis's operations in Virginia. Greene heard 
of this a few days after he learned that Rawdon's 
re-enforcements had arrived at Charleston. In con- 
sequence of two unforeseen events, Greene was thus 
deprived of his own re-enforcements, and his adver- 
sary received his. 

In order to oppose Rawdon's advance, Greene 
sent the most explicit instructions, under date of 
June loth, to Sumter, to summon Marion to his as- 
sistance, and to put himself in front of Rawdon, 
retard his advance in every way possible, to fall back 
slowly before him and put himself in communication 
with Greene, his intention being to fight Rawdon 
before he reached Ninety-Six. On the nth Greene 
received information that Rawdon had begun his 
march, and on the same day Pickens arrived at 
Ninety-Six from Augusta. Greene immediately sent 
him to re-enforce Sumter; but Sumter could not or 
would not move his men out of their own district. 
They took post at Fort Granby, thinking that Raw- 
don would besiege them. But Rawdon naturally 
pushed past Sumter without noticing him, arriving 
in the vicinity of Ninety-Six on June 21st. Thus 
Greene was not only deprived of his re-enforcements, 
but lost all assistance from his partisan bands 
through their failure to carry out his instructions. 

Meanwhile the siege had been progressing. Lee 



256 GENERAL GREENE. 

had arrived on the 8th, and had immediately broken 
ground on the left, opposite the stockade fort. On 
the night of the 9th a sortie was made by two strong 
parties, who penetrated to the battery in the third 
parallel, destroyed the mine, and wounded Kosciusko, 
But they were driven back before they had been able 
to injure the guns. Lee pushed his works vigorously 
against the stockade fort, and soon had it so com- 
pletely under his fire that the defenders could not go 
out for water during daylight, and were reduced to 
obtaining it at night by means of slaves, whose black 
bodies it was supposed would not be seen. On the 
night of the 12th he attempted to set fire to the aba- 
tis, but the result was a disastrous failure, the party 
sent out for this purpose being all killed or wounded. 
On the afternoon of the 12th a picturesque incident 
occurred. A countryman rode into the lines from 
the south and moved along conversing with the offi- 
cers and men. This was a daily occurrence, and at- 
tracted no attention. But this man, when he reached 
a favorable point, put spurs to his horse and gal- 
loped toward the village stockade. Hundreds of 
bullets were sent after him, but he escaped unhurt, 
and as he neared the stockade he turned in his sad- 
dle and waved a letter in his hand. It was a dis- 
patch from Rawdon to Cruger, telling him " that he 
had passed Orangeburg, and was in full march to 
raise the siege." 

Greene now knew that he could not hope for a 
surrender. His only possible chance of success was 
in a speedy assault, and for this he made prepara- 
tions. The troops were all anxious to try it. The 
third parallel was now within thirty yards of the re- 
doubt, and a mine and two trenches, led from it to 



THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. 257 

within a few feet of the ditch. The Maham tower 
commanded the interior of the redoubt, and all efforts 
of the garrison to destroy it had failed. From its 
top the riflemen picked off the gunners so that the 
guns were silent during the day. At night, however, 
the guns resumed fire, as the besiegers had not suc- 
ceeded in dismounting them. The parapet had been 
raised three feet higher, making its total height above 
the ditch fifteen feet, by means of sandbags, leaving 
openings through which the field pieces as well as 
the muskets could fire. 

The i8th of June was fixed as the day of the as- 
sault. Axes were provided to cut out the abatis, 
fascines to fill up the ditch, and long poles with 
hooks at the end to pull down the sandbags. Camp- 
bell, with his own regiment, the First Virginia, and a 
detachment of Marylanders, was to storm the Star 
redoubt, and Lee, with the Legion, was to attack the 
stockade fort. The rest of the force was to man the 
Maham tower, the battery and the third parallel, and 
cover the assault with their fire. At eleven o'clock 
in the morning Greene opened the most vigorous can- 
nonade that his four guns could produce, and his 
riflemen were ready to pick off every head that 
showed itself above the parapet. At noon the storm- 
ing parties rushed forward and soon gained the ditch. 
Here they were subjected to a terrible cross-fire on 
their flanks from the salient angles of the redoubt, 
and from above their heads through the loopholes of 
the sandbags. It was found impossible to pull down 
these bags, either because the bags were too heavy 
or the poles were not long enough. Nevertheless, the 
men continued to work in the ditch for nearly an 
hour, clearing out the abatis and piling up the fas- 



258 GENERAL GREENE. 

cines; but finally, of their leaders, Captain Arm- 
strong was killed and Lieutenants Seldon and Duval 
were wounded, and just then two parties of the gar- 
rison — one under Campbell, of New Jersey, and the 
other under French, of De Lancey's battalion — came 
out through the sallyport of the redoubt, and, en- 
tering the ditch at that point, one part on each side, 
charged the assailants in the flank. Attacked thus on 
all sides, the storming parties were driven out of the 
ditch and forced back into the third parallel. 

On the left, Lee's attack upon the stockade fort 
met with much better success. The storming party 
was led by Captain Rudolph, of the Legion, and it was 
supported by the rest of the Legion and Kirkwood's 
Delaware battalion. It captured the stockade fort, 
and was preparing to assault the jail and then take 
the Star redoubt in reverse, when Lee was recalled 
by Greene. 

When his storming party found it impossible to 
make any headway out of the ditch, Greene had the 
same opportunity that had presented itself to him at 
the close of the battle of Guilford. He could send 
every man to the support of the storming party and 
risk everything on the result, which would be either 
success or the total destruction of his entire force. 
Now, as then, he adhered to his resolution never to 
place his army within the possibility of complete de- 
struction. He therefore withdrew within his own 
lines and made preparations to raise the siege and 
begin his retreat toward Charlotte, North Carolina, 
in the morning. The siege had lasted twenty-eight 
days. Greene had lost fifty-seven killed, seventy 
wounded, and twenty missing; the garrison lost 
twenty-seven killed and fifty-eight wounded. 



l.-?^^^ ^^.''a ■' 5) VIEW OF 

5) i? '^ i* ») -■ 10 20 so 40 50 100 200 






:?^A^ <? 



^i^ 



NINETY SIX 



SCALE OF YARDS 









^ «_?. A A A A AA. 



Al>5 



3 9 - 
9 ^, 



? i 



yji'-^ ■? 



■3/ b 



^^& ^ 






* „ ^. /^ ^ ^ ;, ^ ^ 



5" • 'M'i, 

Resent ^'•"a^fifi'/^J 



, PARALLEL, 



Tillage of 



Qig NINETY SI^ 



-ii^ 



> 1 



a-- 



,j? ^9 



.■s ^ 



.Jii 









S> <q> S 






fj 



-> iP ^. 



i> § ^ 



5i 



"^ i^'f' §> ^ /> 

5> ^i3> ;^^:?5i 5^ 



.? ? 






A-&A <? J> P i? 



S> 



5> 




<^4 


.? <? " ? -'." « 




REFERENOeS. 


a. 


The SprinK. 


b. 


" Stockade Fort. 


0, 


" Old Jail. 


d. 


" Court House. 


e. 


" Star Redoubt. 


/. 


" First Mine. 


9, 


g, g, g. The besle|;tnt( 
encampments. 


K 


A. The Lines enclosing 
the Town. 



j(^ A ^ -A- 



From Johnson's Life of Greene 



ii 



THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. 



259 



Rawdon arrived at Ninety-Six on the 21st of 
June, bringing with him fresh troops to the number of 
about eighteen hundred infantry and two hundred 
cavalry, besides irregular partisans. He was hailed 
with delight, and Cruger was congratulated on the 
gallant defense which he had made. Greene had be- 
gun his retreat on the morning of the 20th, taking 
the road toward Charlotte, and sending orders to 
Sumter to join him. Rawdon wasted no time at 
Ninety-Six, but marched in pursuit of Greene a few 
hours after his arrival. On the 23d he came up with 
the rear guard, under Lee and Washington, on the 
banks of the Ennoree, Greene with the main body 
being farther on, behind the Broad River. He had 
retreated about fifty miles in three days. Rawdon 
saw that he could accomplish nothing by continu- 
ing the pursuit, and he therefore retraced his steps 
to Ninety-Six, Lee and Washington following him 
closely all the way. 

It was impossible for the British to retain a gar- 
rison at Ninety-Six. The distance from Charleston 
was about one hundred and sixty miles, all the inter- 
mediate posts had been broken up, and communica- 
tions could not be maintained through a country in- 
fested with hostile partisans and an active adversary. 
Rawdon therefore made preparations for its imme- 
diate abandonment. Thus, for the third time, the 
British had won the action, but Greene had gained 
the object of the campaign. 

The entire population of the State being in arms 
on one or the other side, and both pursuing each 
other with relentless vigor and cruelty, it was neces- 
sary to provide for removing the Tory inhabitants of 
the district around Ninety-Six at the same time that 



26o GENERAL GREENE. 

the post was abandoned. This duty, as well as the 
removal of the stores, was intrusted to Cruger and 
considerably more than half of the united force, 
while Rawdon, with eight hundred infantry and sixty 
cavalry, began his retreat to Charleston on June 
29th. His route lay through Fort Granby, or Fri- 
day's Ferry, where he expected to be joined by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Stuart and the Third Regiment from 
Charleston. Lee hung close to Rawdon in all his 
movements and kept Greene fully informed of them. 
The latter immediately marched to Winnsborough 
(whence Cornwallis had started on the campaign six 
months before), and leaving there his baggage, stores, 
and invalids, with orders to proceed to Camden, he 
continued his march toward Fort Granby. Sumter 
and Marion were again urged to join him, and Lee 
was directed to put himself in front of Rawdon and 
delay his march as much as possible. Rawdon 
reached Fort Granby on July 3d, two days before 
Greene, but Lee was constantly on his flanks, and 
picked up between forty and fifty of his dragoons 
who imprudently left the column on a foraging ex- 
pedition. At Fort Granby Rawdon expected to find 
Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart and the Third Regiment, 
who were under orders to march from Charleston 
and meet him at that point. But he was not there. 
His march had been delayed, and the letter from 
Colonel Balfour to Rawdon, informing him of this 
fact, had been intercepted and placed in Greene's 
hands. Rawdon therefore continued his retreat to 
Orangeburg, Lee in front of him and harassing him 
all the way. On the 8th he reached that point, his 
men half dead with heat and fatigue; and here he 
was joined by Stuart and the Third Regiment, or 



THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. 26 1 

Buffs. On the same day Cruger, with over thirteen 
hundred troops and his caravan of emigrants, left 
Ninety-Six, closely watched by Pickens and Clarke. 
On the loth, Sumter and Marion joined Greene at 
Fort Granby with about one thousand State troops 
and militia, carrying Greene's total strength to over 
two thousand men. He immediately marched from 
Fort Granby to Orangeburg, hoping to fight Raw- 
don on favorable ground before Cruger could join 
him. He took up a position in front of Orangeburg, 
in the expectation that Rawdon would come out to 
attack him; but Rawdon occupied an excellent po- 
sition at Orangeburg and declined to leave it. On 
the other hand, this position was too strong for Greene 
to attack it. Cruger, having convoyed his refugees 
well on their way toward Charleston, was now march- 
ing across to join Rawdon at Orangeburg, giving him 
a united force of nearly three thousand regulars. 
Greene therefore decided, on July 13th, to retreat 
from Orangeburg and post his Continental troops 
on the High Hills of Santee, for the purpose of giv- 
ing them a short but much-needed rest and recupera- 
tion,* while the partisan troops and the Legion were 
sent on a raid against the posts just outside of 
Charleston, This expedition did not realize all that 
was expected of it, but it captured or destroyed a 
considerable amount of stores, horses, and wagons, 
took one hundred and fifty prisoners, drove the Nine- 
teenth Regiment from Monk's Corners into Charles- 
ton and penetrated within five miles of that city, and 
all without any losses of consequence. They then re- 

* For the last ten days the army had subsisted almost entirely 
on rice and frogs. 



262 GENERAL GREENE. 

turned, and on the 22d of July the force was posted 
as follows : Greene with the main body and Lee's 
Legion on the High Hills of Santee; Sumter at 
Friday's Ferry, on the right ; Marion at Nelson's 
Ferry, on the left ; and Pickens recruiting on his old 
ground, in the vicinity of Ninety-Six. 

Rawdon returned to Charleston, and thence sailed 
for New York on leave of absence. His vessel was 
captured by De Grasse on his way to Yorktown, and 
he joined Cornwallis as a prisoner at the latter's sur- 
render. Stuart, who was left in command of the 
troops in the field, advanced slightly from Orange- 
burg toward Friday's Ferry. In these positions both 
armies, prostrated with the intense heat and worn 
out with their prodigious marches and incessant com- 
bats, rested for the next six weeks. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

EUTAW SPRINGS AND THE CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN 
CAMPAIGN — I78l-'83. 

On the 2d of December, 1780, Greene had taken 
command at Charlotte, and early in January the active 
campaign had begun with the battle of the Cowpens. 
It was now the last of July, 1781, and during these 
seven months — through the snows of winter, the mud 
and rains of spring, and the torrid heat of summer — 
the campaign had been in progress with hardly a 
day's intermission. It was a superbly sustained ef- 
fort. Without assistance from the North, without 
proper equipment, without money, without any re- 
sources except such as his genius called forth from 
an exhausted country, opposed to an enemy outnum- 
bering him three to one, he had broken up all their 
posts in the interior, had manoeuvred one part of 
their force into Virginia and driven the rest back 
toward the seacoast, where their fleet gave them 
immunity. He had marched nine hundred and fifty 
miles, fought three battles, carried on a siege, con- 
ducted a most skillful retreat and an equally bril- 
liant advance. When the enemy concentrated their 
army for attack he divided his force for the purpose 
of distracting their attention ; and when they dis- 
persed in order to hold the conquered territory and 
reintroduce their Government, he assembled his 



264 GENERAL GREENE. 

troops to fall upon their posts in quick succession 
and destroy them. Defeated in every general en- 
gagement and losing his principal siege, he yet 
gained the ultimate object of every movement. 

His adversaries as well as his companions have 
united in testifying to his well-merited success. The 
British historian Steedman says : " Through his own 
firmness and perseverance ... he succeeded in the 
main object of the campaign." And the brilliant 
and generous Lee, to whom more than to any one 
else of his subordinates he owed his success, and 
who, more fortunate than Greene himself, failed in 
hardly a single one of the enterprises confided to 
him, wrote that " such results can only be attributed 
to superior talents, seconded by skill, courage, and 
fidelity. Fortune often gives victory ; but when the 
weak, destitute of the essential means of war, suc- 
cessfully oppose the strong, it is not chance but sub- 
lime genius which guides the intermediate operations 
and controls the ultimate event." Greene was 
cheered at the time by a cordial letter from Washing- 
ton, saying: "It is with the warmest pleasure I ex- 
press my full approbation of the various movements 
and operations which your military conduct has 
lately exhibited, while I confess to you that I am un- 
able to conceive what more could have been done 
under your circumstances than has been displayed 
by your little, persevering, and determined army." 

The hot and sickly season was now at its height, 
and it was imperatively necessary to rest and recruit 
his exhausted force. For this purpose Greene se- 
lected the High Hills of Santee, an elevated and 
comparatively healthy region about ninety miles 
from Charleston. Here he placed his little force in 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 265 

tents, instituted daily drills, parades, and guard duty, 
and re-established its discipline. 

He had now practically abandoned all hope of re- 
enforcements from the North, and his only resource 
was to draw fresh men from the two States he had re- 
conquered. He had been so disappointed in regard 
to the Virginia militia that it seemed useless to ask 
for any more; but he did ask of the new Governor 
(Nelson) that recruits might be sent to fill up the 
quota of the two Continental regiments from Vir- 
ginia. His appeal was unsuccessful, for all the men 
that could be raised in Virginia were needed within 
her own borders. In North Carolina the draft had 
been ordered. It was feebly enforced, but two hun- 
dred recruits were sent to the Continental regiments, 
and about five hundred militia came forward, im- 
perfectly armed, under General Sumner. In South 
Carolina the Governor (Rutledge) had just returned 
from the North and was at Greene's camp. Measures 
were taken to restore civil government throughout 
the State. It was not deemed expedient to order a 
draft, but Sumter was authorized to raise a brigade 
to fill the State's Continental quota. So far from 
doing this, however, Sumter, without consulting 
Greene, retired to his home on the plea of ill health, 
and did not rejoin the army until four months later. 
Moreover, he left instructions with the officer to whom 
he turned over his command that he wished " the 
troops to have a respite from service until the istof 
October, and as many of them furloughed from time 
to time as the service will permit of." And he did this 
in face of a letter from Greene, received only a few 
days before, saying that *' as soon as re-enforce- 
ments arrive and the troops have had a little relax- 
18 



266 GENERAL GREENE. 

ation, we will draw our force to a point and attack 
the enemy wherever he may be found." Such a fla- 
grant case of insubordination deserved the severest 
punishment, and Greene's first thought was to bring 
Sumter to immediate trial. But on reflection he saw 
that this would introduce dissension in a State where 
he needed every available assistance. Moreover, he 
fully appreciated Sumter's brilliant abilities as a par- 
tisan leader, and he was perhaps not without hopes 
that Sumter might soon return to duty. He there- 
fore decided to pass over his dereliction in silence. 
He had no hesitation, however, in peremptorily re- 
scinding the order for furloughing the men ; and he 
directed their new commander, Colonel Henderson, 
not only to give no furlough, but to call out every 
man at home. In this Henderson was only partially 
successful, and the number of men he brought to the 
battle of Eutaw Springs was less than two hundred. 
In the final effort which Greene was about to make 
to drive the British out of South Carolina the troops 
of that State numbered barely seven hundred in all. 

In Georgia a small force of about one hundred 
and fifty militia had been raised, but before they 
could take the field they were smitten with small- 
pox, and were disbanded. 

The six weeks of repose on the High Hills of 
Santee had thus brought nothing in the way of re-en- 
forcements but about seven hundred raw levies from 
North Carolina, and these so deficient in arms that 
only half of them could be brought into action. It 
had brought nothing in the way of clothing or other 
equipments. Rutledge had indeed come back with 
promises of money from Robert Morris, the new 
Superintendent of Finance. But the promises were 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



267 



not cash ; only authority to draw drafts on Morris 
to a limited extent, and these were conditioned upon 
subscriptions being obtained from Southern planters 
to shares in the new bank. The idea of expecting 
planters, in the midst of a civil war, to subscribe to a 
new-fangled idea of a bank away off in Philadelphia 
was in the last degree visionary. Rutledge could 
not secure a subscription for one share along the 
whole line of his journey from Philadelphia to the 
Santee. Greene wrote to Morris telling him of the 
result ; and thinking that Morris could not possibly 
comprehend his situation, he endeavored to paint it 
for him in unmistakable colors. " When I tell you 
that I am in distress, don't imagine that I mean little 
difificulties, but suppose my situation to be like a 
ship's crew in a storm, where the vessel is ready to 
sink and the water gains ground in the hold with 
every exertion to prevent it. It is a maxim in re- 
publican governments never to despair of the com- 
monwealth ; nor do I. But I foresee more difficul- 
ties than I can readily see how to conquer. I wish 
to discharge my duty, but events will depend upon 
the means and upon the hand of Providence. If I 
have any opportunity of obtaining money and draw- 
ing bills on you, I shall embrace it. But 'tis a very 
uncertain source, and therefore I leave you to judge 
of the prudence of exposing an army to such contin- 
gencies." For the present he found no one ready to 
buy drafts on Morris. But the Governor discovered 
a small source of revenue in seizing indigo, of which 
a considerable amount was raised in the State, and 
this was sold for cash, with which the wants of the 
army in the matter of clothing were slightly relieved. 
For food the army depended now, as it always 



268 GENERAL GREENE. 

had, on forced impressment from the surrounding 
country. The necessity for this was a constant in- 
centive to plunder, and the intense hatred between 
Whig and Tory still further increased this tendency. 
This disposition was naturally more noticeable among 
the partisan troops of the State than among the Con- 
tinentals. Greene repressed it with a heavy hand, 
several marauders being hanged. The same punish- 
ment had to be meted out to deserters, and one ser- 
geant was shot for inciting to mutiny. While Greene 
did not shirk the responsibility for these acts, yet his 
kindly nature was sickened at the sight of them and 
of the miseries of the people around him. In writing 
to his wife he could not repress his longing " for a 
peaceful retirement, where love and softer pleasures 
are to be found. Here, turn what way you will, you 
have nothing but the mournful widow and the plaints 
of the fatherless child, and behold nothing but 
houses desolated and plantations laid waste. Ruin 
is in every form and misery in every shape." It was 
more than six years since he had left his home, and 
nearly two years since the last glimpse of his wife at 
the winter camp at Morristown. The activity and 
excitement of the campaign had absorbed his atten- 
tion, and it was doubtless not lacking in that pleas- 
ure which a vigorous man always feels in the 
accomplishment of important deeds; yet, in the 
temporary inaction of camp, surrounded by misery, 
and with a still uncertain future before him, there 
must have been many a long, sad, and weary hour, 
in which his thoughts turned to home and wife and 
children. 

But these six weeks, though they brought but a 
handful of re-enforcements and a pittance in money, 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 269 

had refreshed and invigorated his army, restored its 
discipline, and raised its hopes. It was in good 
spirits in spite of its almost incredible hardships, 
and nothing was to be gained by further inaction- 
He therefore sallied forth from his camp to fight the 
British army once more, hoping to inflict a disastrous 
defeat upon it and drive the remnants into Charles- 
ton, where, as he more than once suggested to 
Washington, he hoped that the French fleet would 
come to capture them. 

On the 23d of August he broke camp at day- 
break and marched up the Wateree toward Camden. 
Stuart, with a force slightly larger than his own, was 
encamped nearly opposite to him and about sixteen 
miles distant, at the junction of the Congaree and 
Wateree. It was open to Greene to march down the 
river to Nelson's Ferry, about two miles from Eutaw 
Springs, and, crossing there, place himself between 
Stuart and Charleston ; but to this there were mani- 
fold objections. The rivers were enormously swollen 
by recent rains, and Greene did not possess enough 
boats to insure his crossing; if Stuart reached Nel- 
son's Ferry before him, his army was not sufificiently 
numerous to force a passage across the river. More- 
over, throughout the whole campaign he always ma- 
noeuvred so as to keep as near as possible to the head- 
waters of the streams, and never to allow the enemy 
to get between him and the base of the moun- 
tains, along which in case of necessity lay his line of 
retreat to Virginia. Finally, the militia of Pickens 
and Henderson (formerly Sumter's) were in the vi- 
cinity of Fort Granby, and he wished to unite with 
them before making an attack. The plan of moving 
down the river was therefore renounced in favor of 



270 



GENERAL GREENE. 



a circuitous march through Camden and Howell's 
Ferry, thus approaching Stuart from the north and 
west, and on the same side of the river that he was. 

Owing to the intense heat, Greene moved slowly, 
and on the 28th reached Fort Motte. Stuart, as 
soon as he heard that Greene was at Camden, began 
his retreat toward Charleston, and established him- 
self at Eutaw Springs. Sending all his heavy bag- 
gage back to Howell's Ferry, and keeping only two 
wagons loaded with hospital stores and rum, Greene 
moved slowly forward in pursuit. On the 5th he 
learned of a successful encounter between Marion 
(who with his own partisans and Washington's 
Dragoons was raiding the lower country toward 
Charleston) and a party of British and Hessians at 
Parker's Ferry on the Edisto, in which Marion 
killed and wounded about one hundred of his oppo- 
nents, with only a trifling loss on his own side. 
Marion joined him on the evening of September 7th, 
about seven miles from Eutaw Springs. 

On the morning of the 8th Greene formed his 
army in two columns, each ready for instant deploy- 
ment. In the first were four small battalions of 
militia — two from North Carolina, under Colonel 
Malmedy, and two from South Carolina, under 
Pickens and Marion ; in the second were three small 
brigades of Continentals, from North Carolina, Vir- 
ginia, and Maryland, under Sumner, Campbell, and 
Williams respectively. Lee with his legion covered 
the right flank, Henderson with the South Carolina 
partisans the left flank, and Washington's Cavalry 
with the remnants of Kirkwood's Delaware Battalion 
formed the rear. Two three-pounders were with the 
first column and two six-pounders with the second. 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 27 1 

In this order Greene moved forward at daylight to- 
ward Eutaw Springs. His total strength was about 
twenty-three hundred, of whom twelve hundred and 
fifty-six were Continentals and the rest militia. 

Stuart's force was almost exactly equal in 
strength, and consisted of the Third Regiment or 
"Buffs," lately arrived from Ireland, the Sixty-third 
and Sixty-fourth Regiments, which had served 
through the whole war, a battalion of Grenadiers, 
and the New York and New Jersey Volunteers under 
Cruger. They were camped in a clearing about two 
hundred yards west of Eutaw Springs, on the main 
road along the Congaree. Except in this clearing 
the surrounding country was heavily wooded. They 
do not seem to have kept a very good watch, for al- 
though Greene had passed the night within less than 
seven miles of them, they had no knowledge of his 
approach, and on the morning of the 8th the usual 
detachment of " rooting parties " was sent out from 
each regiment, unarmed and accompanied only by a 
small escort, to dig for sweet potatoes. Two de- 
serters came into Stuart's camp during the night 
telling of Greene's approach, but their story was not 
credited ; they were thought to be spies, and were 
sent to the guard house. Nevertheless, a detach- 
ment of cavalry under Captain Coffin was sent out 
after the "rooting parties" to reconnoiter. This 
detachment met Greene's advance guard about 8 
A. M., four miles from Eutaw. Supposing it to be 
a party of militia, Colifin charged impetuously. He 
soon learned his mistake, and his men broke and 
fled, leaving forty prisoners and a number of dead 
and wounded on the field. The "rooting parties" 
who were in the fields near the river, hearing this 



2/2 



GENERAL GREENE. 



firing, came through the woods to the road, where 
they were all captured. 

The sound of Coffin's skirmish told Stuart that 
the enemy was near him, and he quickly put his force 
in position across the road, about two hundred yards 
in front of his camp. The Third Regiment was 
placed on the right, the Volunteers under Cruger in 
the center, and the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth on 
the left. A battalion of light infantry under Major 
Marjoribanks protected his right flank, extending 
from the Third Regiment to the steep bank of Eutaw 
Creek. His three pieces of artillery were placed in 
the center, on the road. 

Greene moved forward quickly in pursuit of Cof- 
fin, deploying his two columns into lines as rapidly 
as the ground would permit, and sending his artil- 
lery in advance to open the engagement. In this 
manner he continued to move forward until became 
upon the enemy's main line. Here a very hot fight 
took place. The militia, under the lead of Pickens 
and Marion, fought with great determination and 
held their ground for a long time, but they were 
finally forced back in the center, and Sumner was or- 
dered from the second into the first line. Thus re- 
enforced, the first line renewed the battle and again 
gained ground, but after a while it was again forced 
back. Greene then sent Williams and Campbell for- 
ward with orders not to fire, but to use their bayonets ; 
at the same time Washington's Cavalry was advanced 
against the British right under Marjoribanks, and 
Lee with the infantry of the Legion against their 
left. A most determmed assault was then made on 
all sides; the men came to close quarters and the 
bayonet was freely used. On the left Washington 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 273 

met with disaster. Marjoribanks made a stubborn 
defense, and the ground was much too densely wooded 
to allow the cavalry to operate with advantage. 
Washington's horse was shot under him, he was 
bayoneted, and would have been killed but for the 
intervention of a British ofificer, who made him pris- 
oner. All of his officers but two were killed or 
wounded, and nearly half of his men met the same 
fate. The remnants were withdrawn by the two 
surviving officers, and their retreat was covered by 
Colonel Wade Hampton and the South Carolina par- 
tisans. In the center and on the right the Ameri- 
cans met with complete success. In the desperate 
struggle Campbell was killed, Howard and Henderson 
were wounded, the gallant Duval, who had led the 
storming party into the ditch at Ninety-Six, was 
killed, and many others were wounded ; but the line 
pressed on, greatly assisted by the fire of the Legion 
upon the British left flank. Two of the three British 
guns were captured and three hundred prisoners were 
taken ; and finally their whole line gave way and 
fled in confusion through their camp. Marjoribanks 
from the right followed and covered their retreat. 

The greater part of the British force ran until 
they reached the two roads some distance in rear 
of their camp. Here Stuart succeeded in rallying 
them. But a portion of the New York Volunteers 
under Major Sheridan rushed into a strongly built 
brick house on the edge of a garden surrounded by a 
stout fence. Marjoribanks halted in the garden on 
the right of this house. Sheridan was pursued so 
closely by the infantry of Lee's Legion that both 
reached the brick house at the same moment, and for 
a time there was a struggle for the possession of the 



274 



GENERAL GREENE. 



door. But the British finally held it and closed it, 
and then began a vigorous fire from the windows. 
Unfortunately, the line of the American advance led 
directly through the British camp, and it was filled 
with an abundance of good things to eat and drink. 
The Americans could not resist the temptation to 
stop and enjoy these luxuries, to which they had so 
long been strangers; they considered the battle won, 
and no efforts of their officers could induce them to 
continue the pursuit. Thus the Legion, alone and 
unsupported, reached the house. It could not main- 
tain itself against the fire from the windows and was 
forced to retreat. It did so, protecting itself from 
the fire by means of the prisoners which it took. 
Seeing their retreat, Coffin with his cavalry, which 
was in the woods on the British left and had not been 
carried away in their retreat, emerged and made a 
vigorous charge against the American right, and Mar- 
joribanks resumed the offensive against Kirkwood on 
their left. Coffin was met by Hampton in a desperate 
encounter, in which the former was routed. The two 
six-pounders from the American second line, together 
with the two which had been captured from the Brit- 
ish, were then brought up for the purpose of demol- 
ishing the house. Hampton was so successful that 
both he and the artillery pushed on too far and with- 
out proper support, the bulk of the American force 
still being in complete disorder, eating and drinking 
in the British camp. Seeing this, Marjoribanks 
made a bold and successful flank attack, inflicting 
great loss on Hampton, driving him back, and cap- 
turing three out of the four pieces of artillery. This 
put an end to the action. The American force was 
in such confusion that their only safety was in re- 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 2/ 

treat, which Greene now ordered. It was nearly 
noon, the battle had lasted between three and four 
hours, the heat was now intense, and there was no 
water available. Collecting his wounded, Greene fell 
back seven miles to Burdell's plantation, whence he 
had marched in the morning. Hampton brought up 
the rear, but the British attempted no pursuit beyond 
the line of their camp. On the following evening 
Stuart destroyed such stores as he could not carry 
away, and, leaving seventy-two of his wounded and 
one thousand stand of arms, began a hasty retreat 
toward Charleston. Greene thereupon moved for- 
ward as far as Eutaw Springs with his main body, 
and sent Marion and Lee in pursuit. They skir- 
mished with Stuart's rear guard, but were not strong 
enough to accomplish anything. Greene followed 
them with his entire force to Ferguson's Swamp, 
fourteen miles from Eutaw ; but here Stuart was 
joined by a considerable re-enforcement from Charles- 
ton, and Greene was not in condition to attack this 
increased force; he therefore retreated slowly 
through Eutaw Springs, across Nelson's Ferry, and 
up the east bank of the river to his former camp on 
the High Hills of Santee. 

The battle of Eutaw Springs was the most hotly 
contested engagement of the war. Greene, who had 
been in nearly all the battles at the North, wrote to 
Washington that it was " a most bloody battle — by 
far the most obstinate fight I ever saw." The num- 
bers were small — only twenty-three hundred on each 
side — but the losses were proportionately very great. 
On the American side eighteen officers and one hun- 
dred and two men were killed, forty-three officers 
and three hundred and thirtv-two men wounded, and 



2/6 



GENERAL GREENE. 



eight missing; a total of five hundred and twenty- 
two, or about one fourth of their entire strength — 
the proportion in officers being still greater. The 
British, according to their own account, lost three 
officers and eighty-two men killed, sixteen officers 
and three hundred and thirty-five men wounded, and 
ten officers and two hundred and forty-seven men 
missing; a total of six hundred and nindCy, or nearly 
one third of their strength. But these figures were 
inaccurate, at least in the number missing, for Greene 
carried off the field four hundred and thirty prisoners, 
in addition to seventy-two wounded who were aban- 
doned by Stuart on the day after the battle. Their 
loss was thus at least nine hundred men out of a 
force of twenty-three hundred. The gallant Marjori- 
banks, who had contributed so much to save their 
army from complete capture, died on the retreat to 
Charleston. 

Greene claimed a victory because, although he 
retreated from the field, he regained it the second 
day afterward, and pursued the enemy more than 
fourteen miles beyond it. It was in reality a drawn 
battle, but it was remarkable not only on account of 
the fierceness of the fighting, but as being the only 
case during the war in which the British regulars 
were driven headlong in an open fight ; it was the sec- 
ond case — Stony Point being the first — in which the 
Americans freely and successfully used the bayonet. 
It was still more remarkable for the unflinching stub- 
bornness with which the militia fought. The sub- 
stantial results of victory were all on Greene's side, 
and were so recognized by Washington, Congress, 
and the people generally. Congress passed a highly 
eulogistic vote of thanks to Greene for his " most 




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CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



277 



signal victory," and ordered a gold medal and a 
British standard to be presented to him ; and Wash- 
ington wrote him a most flattering letter, saying : 
** How happy am I, having it in my power to con- 
gratulate you upon a victory as splendid as I hope 
it will prove important ! Fortune must have been 
coy, indeed, had she not yielded at last to so perse- 
vering a pursuer as you have been." 

The battle of Eutaw Springs was fought on the 
8th of September, 1781, and Yorktown with Corn- 
wallis's army surrendered on the 19th of October- 
The two events practically terminated the war, al- 
though Charleston was not evacuated until December 
14, 1782, and New York till November 25, 1783, De 
Grasse, with his fleet and the troops he had brought 
with him, sailed back to the West Indies ; Rochambeau 
wintered his army in Virginia; Washington divided 
the American troops at Yorktown into two bodies, 
sending one under Lincoln back to the Hudson, and 
the other under St. Clair to re-enforce Greene. 

This scattering of the force which had taken 
Yorktown was a grievous disappointment to Greene 
and Governor Rutledge. When the latter arrived 
at Greene's camp on the Santee at the beginning 
of August, he brought the news that De Grasse's 
fleet would be on the coast by the latter part 
of the month. Greene thereupon wrote to Wash- 
ington, under date of August 6th, a long letter, 
giving an exact account of the situation in the 
South and his own suggestions as to the way in 
which the French fleet might be utilized. Wash- 
ington had written for just such a report on July 
30th, but his letter was not received until six weeks 
after Greene had sent his. In this letter Greene ex- 



278 GENERAL GREENE. 

pressed confidence in the success of the intended op- 
erations against New York, of which Washington had 
informed him in June. When this should be accom- 
plished, he suggested as follows: " Twenty-five hun- 
dred regular forces, to be added to the Marquis's 
army, besides what may be expected from Pennsyl- 
vania and Virginia, would oblige Cornwallis to take 
a position and fortify himself ; and if the supplies to 
his army could be cut off by water, which the fleet 
may easily effect after the reduction of New York, 
he would be obliged to surrender in a fortnight, or 
three weeks at most, for want of provisions." This 
letter outlined with remarkable accuracy the subse- 
quent result at Yorktown. Washington did not re- 
ceive it till he was on his way thither, and the sug- 
gestion had no special influence on his plans, which 
were already formed before he received it ; but the 
letter is interesting as showing how completely 
Greene understood the situation, and how fully his 
mind was in accord with Washington's. He then 
goes on to state that the most important point in 
the South is Charleston, and urges that, as soon as 
Yorktown is taken, a force of ten thousand men be 
sent to reduce that place " with certainty and dis- 
patch " ; or, if so many can not be sent, that the at- 
tempt be made with a smaller force, provided the 
French naval force be strong enough to maintain 
absolute control on the sea. 

Washington was too busy at Yorktown to make 
any immediate reply to this letter, and on September 
17th Greene, having received word from Lafayette 
of the march toward Yorktown, wrote again to 
Washington, expressing the fullest confidence in the 
capture of Cornwallis's army, and urging once more 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 279 

the advisability of the entire force moving against 
Charleston as soon as this should be accomplished. 
" Charleston itself may be easily reduced if you will 
bend your forces this way. And it will afford me 
great pleasure to join your Excellency in the at- 
ternpt ; for I shall be equally happy, whether as prin- 
cipal or subordinate, so that the public good be pro- 
moted." 

Governor Rutledge was at Greene's camp on the 
Santee after the battle of Eutaw and in daily com- 
munication with him. Greene doubtless impressed 
upon him the importance of these views, and on Oc- 
tober 5th Rutledge wrote a long letter to Washing- 
ton of the same tenor. Washington on his part had 
already come to the same conclusions, and although 
De Grasse before leaving the West Indies had writ- 
ten him that he could not remain longer than Oc- 
tober 15th, yet in his first interview with him after 
his arrival Washington had ventured to suggest the 
desirability of an expedition against Charleston as 
soon as Yorktown should fall. De Grasse did not 
think favorably of it, and replied that he could not 
remain longer than November ist at the very latest. 
Nevertheless, when Yorktown fell, on October 19th, 
Washington on the very next day wrote at length to 
De Grasse urging the project in the strongest possi- 
ble language, proving conclusively that it would be 
successful, and telling De Grasse that it was in his 
power " to terminate the war and enable the allies to 
dictate the law in a treaty." De Grasse replied that 
he "would be happy to be able to make the expe- 
dition to Charleston, all the advantages of which he 
feels; but the orders of his court, ulterior projects, 
and his engagements with the Spaniards render it 



28o GENERAL GREENE. 

impossible to remain here the necessary time for this 
operation." In his letter he stated that he would be 
very happy to co-operate in the campaign of the 
next year, if not incompatible with the orders of his 
court. Washington eagerly grasped at this, and 
wrote back that it could not be decided until spring 
whether the expedition should be against New York 
or Charleston; but he urged upon him the ''indis- 
pensable necessity of a maritime force capable of 
giving an absolute ascendency in these seas," and 
requested that his fleet rendezvous in Chesapeake 
Bay in May. De Grasse said that he would lay the 
proposition before the French court ; and then, on 
the 4th of November, with his fleet and his troops, 
he sailed away to the West Indies, to meet destruc- 
tion and capture at the hands of Rodney in the fol- 
lowing April. 

Thus, by the French making their co-operation 
with the Americans secondary to their " ulterior 
projects," was lost the chance of putting a summary 
end to the war, which was to continue in a sputter- 
ing fashion for more than a year longer. Washing- 
ton made one effort toward terminating it by consid- 
ering the plan of marching overland to the siege of 
Charleston. Lincoln, having been besieged and cap- 
tured in Charleston, and being thus familiar with the 
locality, was asked to give his views in writing on 
this project. He did so, and showed conclusively 
that it was impracticable, because the siege material 
alone would weigh twenty-five hundred tons, and 
there was no possibility of obtaining the necessary 
transportation for such an amount. He advised 
that a part of the American army be sent to re-en- 
force Greene so as to enable him to confine the 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 28 1 

British in Charleston ; the rest to go back to the 
Hudson, and Rochambeau to winter his troops in 
Virginia, where they could give assistance in either 
direction as might be necessary. Washington adopt- 
ed his recommendations, issued the necessary orders, 
and the troops were put in motion on the ist of No- 
vember. 

Those destined for the South consisted of the 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia lines. St. 
Clair commanded the whole, and Wayne those from 
Pennsylvania. But the Virginia troops refused to 
march unless they received their arrears of pay, and 
as there was no money to pay them they were left 
behind. The others came on, consuming more than 
two months in the march of over five hundred miles 
from Yorktown to Charleston, and joining Greene be- 
fore the latter place on the 5th of January. Greene 
had meanwhile been resting his troops at the High 
Hills of Santee. He had an enormous number of 
wounded to care for, and his hospitals extended 
from the Santee back to Charlotte. Unfortunately, 
the hospital stores destined for his army had been 
captured in passing through Virginia, by Tarleton and 
Simcoe. There were none to be had in the South, 
even if he had possessed the means to buy them. 
There was thus great suffering among the wounded, 
and the exposure to which his troops had so long 
been subjected, combined with insufficient food, lack 
of clothing, and a sickly climate, had produced the 
usual result of a great amount of sickness. Never- 
theless, when the cool season came on in November, 
and he finally learned that there was no hope of the 
French co-operating in a determined effort against 
Charleston, Greene broke up his camp on the Santee 
19 



282 GENERAL GREENE. 

for the last time and marched into the low country, 
partly to obtain supplies for his army and partly to 
hem the enemy in at Charleston. No re-enforce- 
ments had reached him except five hundred militia 
from the mountains of North Carolina/who deserted 
in a body a few days after his movement had begun ; 
his losses at Eutaw and by sickness had reduced his 
force to about 1,500 men, including militia. It is 
astounding to learn from the ofificial returns in the 
British Record Office that their force in South Caro- 
lina at this time (and they occupied no other point 
than Charleston) consisted of no less than 9,775 ef- 
fectives — viz., 5,024 British regulars, 1,596 Hessians, 
and 3,155 Provincials, That Greene should be able, 
with the handful of men which by courtesy was called 
his army, to shut this force up in Charleston and 
hold them there for the remaining year of the war 
without any further attempt on their part to resume 
the offensive, is hardly less than incredible. It leads 
one to think that there was truth as well as rhetoric 
in the remark of Dr. Ramsay, the historian, that 
when Congress sent Greene to the Southern States 
they sent " a general whose military talents were 
equal to a re-enforcement"; and the similar remark 
of Morris, the Superintendent of Finance, giving his 
" fullest applause to an officer who finds in his own 
genius an ample resource for the want of men, money, 
clothes, arms, and supplies." The lessons of Guil- 
ford, Hobkirk's Hill^ Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs 
must have made a profound impression upon the 
British commanders, when they allowed themselves 
to be reduced to impotence by a ragged and half- 
starved force less than one fifth their own in num- 
bers. 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 283 

That Greene had succeeded in overawing the 
British is evident from their behavior as he ap- 
proached Charleston. He had left the Santee on 
November i8th, following the familiar route across 
the Congaree and Wateree to Orangeburg, and 
thence down the Edisto toward Charleston. Placing 
Williams in command of the main body with instruc- 
tions to continue the advance slowly, Greene took 
four hundred men, selected from the Legion, Wash- 
ington's Cavalry, and Sumter's partisans, and with 
them he pushed rapidly to the front. Stuart was 
then at Goose Creek Bridge, about fifteen miles north 
of Charleston, with about two thousand men ; and 
eight miles on his left, at the village of Dorchester, 
on the Ashley River, was another post with one 
thousand men, of whom eight hundred and fifty 
were infantry and one hundred and fifty cav- 
alry. Greene made a dash at Dorchester on the 
morning of December ist. There was a short but 
sharp skirmish between Hampton's " State Horse " 
and the British cavalry, in which the latter were de- 
feated. Then throwing his cannon into the river and 
destroying his stores, the British commander retired 
with great haste toward Charleston, Stuart doing the 
same from Goose Creek Bridge. The two roads on 
which they were retreating united at the Quarter 
House, a few miles out of Charleston, and here they 
made their first stand. So great was the alarm that 
the entire garrison of Charleston was ordered out, 
and even the negroes were called to arms and en- 
rolled. As Williams wrote to Greene, '' Your success 
at Dorchester would make your enemies hate them- 
selves if all the circumstances were generally known." 

Having thus driven the enemy into the city limits 



284 GENERAL GREENE. 

of Charleston by a mere feint, Greene rejoined the 
main body and stationed them at a camp which Kos- 
ciusko had selected at a place called the Round O, 
about forty miles northwest of Charleston, in a dis- 
trict of great fertility, where good crops had been 
raised, as it had seen no campaigning since 1779. 
Here he established his main body on December 9th, 
with Lee's Legion and the partisans spread out fan- 
shape over a wide territory thirty miles in front of 
him. His "main body" contained only about eight 
hundred effective men, and after supplying the de- 
tachments with ammunition it had only four rounds 
per man left ; but Greene relied upon the detach- 
ments in his front to keep these disagreeable facts 
from being known to General Leslie, who had now 
taken command in Charleston. 

On the 4th of January St. Clair at last arrived 
from Yorktown with numbers largely reduced by 
his long march. At the same time the term of serv- 
ice of the Virginia line expired, and they were sent 
home. St. Clair's re-enforcement barely brought 
Greene's strength up to what it had been before the 
battle of Eutaw. It was necessary to retain all the 
infantry with him in South Carolina, but part of the 
cavalry which had arrived was united with detach- 
ments from the State troops to form a command for 
Wayne, with which he was dispatched to the conquest 
of Georgia. He started on January 9th, and reached 
the Savannah River, about thirty miles above the 
city of Savannah, on the i6th. The British forces in 
Georgia at that time numbered about one thousand 
men, composed of a small body of regulars, some 
Tory militia and Creek and Choctaw Indians. Gen- 
eral Clarke was in command, and next in rank to 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



285 



him was Colonel Browne, who had been captured and 
paroled at Augusta, and subsequently exchanged. 
At Wayne's approach Clarke retired into Savannah 
and Browne retreated toward the interior. Wayne's 
force was so small — never exceeding four hundred in 
all, and fluctuating from time to time as the militia 
came and went — that he was unable to undertake 
any serious movements. He kept his little force be- 
tween Savannah and Browne's detachment, con- 
stantly manoeuvring, destroying the enemy's stores 
with small raiding parties, and never placing him- 
self in a position where he could be advantageously 
attacked. He had two skirmishes with Browne's 
militia and Indians, one on May 21st and the other 
on June 23d, in both of which he was successful. 
The Indians then retired to the mountains, and the 
Tory militia under Browne retreated to Florida. 
Clarke evacuated Savannah on July nth and took 
its garrison to Charleston. The State was thus com- 
pletely freed from British occupation, and the As- 
sembly convened at Savannah to restore civil order. 
Wayne rejoined Greene. 

There were no further movements of any mili- 
tary importance. During the year 1782 and the first 
half of 1783 Greene's attention was absorbed in 
assisting the civil authorities to restore the State 
governments, in confining the British to the limits 
of Charleston, and in finding food and clothing for 
his army. Expeditions were undertaken from time 
to time, under Pickens, Marion, and Lee, against the 
islands north and south of Charleston, but none of 
them were of permanent importance, except one in 
August, in which young John Laurens — one of the 
most gifted men of his time, with a future of great 



286 GENERAL GREENE. 

usefulness before him — lost his life. Greene moved 
his camp from one place to another in front of 
Charleston, in order to afford protection to the 
Legislature and to find provisions for his men. 

The Legislature of South Carolina convened, for 
the first time in two years, on January i8, 1782, at 
the village of Jacksonborough, about thirty-five miles 
northwest of Charleston. Rutledge was Governor, 
and he fully appreciated how much the State owed 
to Greene. The greater part of his address was 
taken up with a eulogy of him. He spoke of the 
"wisdom, prudence, address, and bravery of the 
great and gallant General Greene, and the intre- 
pidity of the officers and men under his com- 
mand. ... A general who is justly entitled, from 
his many signal services, to honorable and singular 
marks of your approbation and gratitude." The 
Legislature replied in a similar strain, and a few 
days later, putting their thoughts into deeds, they 
passed a bill "for vesting in General Nathanael 
Greene, in consideration of his important services, 
the sum of ten thousand guineas." As soon as the 
Legislature of Georgia heard of this it took similar 
action, making him a grant of five thousand guineas. 
And this was followed by North Carolina, which 
gave him twenty-four thousand acres of the best 
lands in the western part of the State, which sub- 
sequently became Tennessee. The two former 
grants were not paid in money, but in confiscated 
lands. South Carolina allotted him a plantation 
known as Boone's Barony, to the south of the 
Edisto, together with the slaves that were attached 
to the land. Georgia gave him a beautiful and 
highly improved estate belonging to the late Tory 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 287 

Governor Graham ; it was called Mulberry Grove, 
and was situated on the south bank of the Savannah 
River, about fourteen miles above Savannah. The 
adjoining estate was presented to his friend and 
fellow-soldier, Wayne. These valuable gifts would 
have made Greene independent in fortune if they 
had not been swept away by the obligations he had 
assumed in the effort to find clothing and food for 
his men, as will be afterward explained. 

As has already been stated, it was fifteen months 
after hostilities practically ceased with the battle of 
Eutaw Springs before Charleston was finally evacu- 
ated, and it was twenty-one months before the troops 
were discharged and sent home. Nothing is more 
trying to the discipline of an army than the period 
of inaction between the close of hostilities and the 
declaration of peace. At the North, Washington 
barely succeeded in preventing a mutiny at New- 
burg, and in the South, Greene had an equally 
difficult problem. Several hundred of his men had 
no other clothing than the remnants of a coat or 
blanket, which they pinned around the waist with a 
thorn. They were so ragged that they could not in 
decency leave their tents. They had received no 
pay for more than a year, some of them for longer 
periods. They had subsisted by means of forced 
impressments of food, but now the Legislature 
passed a law forbidding this method. They were 
camped in a sickly country, and large numbers were 
sick with dysentery and fever. They had suffered 
hardships and privations beyond description, and 
now, when the war seemed practically over, the 
longing to return to their homes was almost irre- 
sistible. Many of the officers succeeded in getting 



288 GENERAL GREENE. 

away. St. Clair obtained a leave of absence; Car- 
rington, Williams, and others went North on public 
business, in the hope of securing supplies or money 
for the army ; Lee pleaded ill health and unrequited 
services, and went to Virginia to marry his beauti- 
ful and rich cousin, Mildred Lee. The officers of 
the Legion were dissatisfied with their new com- 
mander, and other officers were restive under the 
enforcement of proper regulations regarding pub- 
lic property. Finally the men became mutinous. 
Wayne's division had mutinied at Morristown two 
years before, and, as Lafayette said, " had been well 
paid and well clothed in consequence of it." These 
men were now in Greene's army, and among them 
was a sergeant named Gornell, who had commanded 
one of the regiments in the New Jersey mutiny. 
He put himself in communication with the enemy 
and concocted a scheme to seize Greene in the night 
and deliver him to the enemy. This was to be fol- 
lowed by a general mutiny of the Pennsylvania and 
Maryland troops 

The difficulties connected with holding his troops 
together during the last eighteen months of their 
service were among the most serious that Greene 
ever had to contend with ; but he faced them man- 
fully. As for the mutiny, he put it down with a 
heavy hand. Having gained satisfactory proofs of 
the conspiracy, he caused Gornell to be arrested, 
tried, and hanged, on April 22d. Four other ser- 
geants were sent into the interior under guard, and 
the other ringleaders succeeded in escaping that 
night to the enemy. There were no further overt 
acts on the part of the men. In dealing with the 
officers he used firmness mingled with patience. The 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 289 

ofificers of the Legion resigned in a body because 
their requests, presented in respectful language, in 
regard to their commanding officer and the method of 
reorganizing the corps, were not approved. To their 
astonishment, Greene accepted their resignations. 
Seeing that they were in the wrong, they pleaded to 
have their commissions restored, and to be allowed 
to present their grievances to Congress. Greene 
somewhat reluctantly acceded to this. As soon as 
the matter came before Congress his orders were 
confirmed. 

Another trouble with the officers arose from their 
appropriating public horses to their private use and 
selling or exchanging them. A flagrant offender 
was a certain Captain Gunn. Greene brought him 
before a court of inquiry, when, to his surprise, the 
court acquitted him and justified the transaction. 
Greene disapproved the finding in general orders, 
required the horse to be restored, and referred the 
matter to Congress, by whom he was fully sustained. 

The greatest difficulty of all, however, was to 
keep his army from starving to death and to secure 
enough clothing to cover its nakedness. For sup- 
plying the Northern army the Superintendent of 
Finance had entered into contracts payable at the 
Treasury of the United States, but he left the South- 
ern army to be supported by the Southern States, 
Virginia and North Carolina repudiated this arrange- 
ment and refused to contribute anything. The entire 
expense of supporting the Southern army thus fell 
upon South Carolina. Its Legislature passed a law 
to stop the method of impressment, by which the 
army had hitherto obtained food, and appointed its 
own agent to collect supplies and turn them over to 



290 



GENERAL GREENE. 



the army. The system worked well for a time, but 
during the summer, through the lack of energy of 
the agent or from other causes, it began to work 
very badly. Greene addressed urgent letters to the 
Governor on the subject, but, in spite of every dis- 
position on the latter's part to aid him, there was no 
improvement. Finally he had to take the matter 
into his own hands. On the 24th of October he ad- 
dressed a letter to the agent in which he said : " The 
army have had but a few days' rice for more than a 
month. Our prospects of beef are not less alarming 
than our supplies of rice have been deficient. The 
discipline and temper of the army have been ruined 
from the irregular manner in which they are sub- 
sisted ; and a continuance, not to say an increase, of 
the difificulties on this head will soon reduce things 
to a state of desperation. My duty obliges me, there- 
fore, to call on you to give me a decisive answer, 
whether you can by the present mode afford certain 
and effectual supplies for the army or not. If you 
can not, some other measures must be adopted." 
The agent referred the letter to the Governor and 
Council, and, no answer being returned, four days 
later Greene issued orders for resuming the method 
of impressment, taking care to provide strict rules 
in regard to it, and cautioning his men that it 
" should be conducted with the greatest prudence, 
delicacy, and equality among the people." In taking 
this step, he acted in disregard of the State law, but 
his soldiers were starving, and their safety was to 
him the supreme law. 

In the matter of clothing, the situation was 
equally bad, but different measures had to be adopt- 
ed. There was abundance of it in Charleston, and 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



291 



the British garrison was short of food. A contra- 
band trade to a limited extent was therefore per- 
mitted under the supervision of Lee and Laurens — 
rice going into the city, and shirts and other articles 
coming out. But this could not be permitted to any 
large extent, and in the spring Greene employed 
Mr. John Waties, afterward Chancellor of North 
Carolina, to obtain supplies of rum, blankets, hos- 
pital stores, and salt from Georgetown, paying for 
them in bills drawn on the Superintendent of Finance, 
which the people were now persuaded to take, though 
with some hesitation and at a considerable discount. 
These means, however, afforded only a partial relief. 
In the month of May Leslie proposed to Greene a 
cessation of hostilities and the opening of a trade 
between Charleston and the interior. Greene was 
too good a soldier to enter into any negotiations re- 
lating to peace, and merely referred the offer to 
Congress, by whom it was promptly rejected. In 
regard to permitting trade, he consulted with the 
Governor and Council, and at their request he de- 
clined it. This possible source of supply was thus 
cut off, and the suffering for lack of clothes con- 
tinued to increase. In August some of the clothing 
which had been nearly nine months on the way from 
Yorktown arrived, just as the condition of the army 
was growing desperate. At this time Greene wrote : 
" For upward of two months more than one third of 
our men were entirely naked, with nothing but a 
breech-clout about them, and never came out of their 
tents, and the rest were as ragged as wolves." Soon 
after this the army was reorganized and consolidated 
in pursuance of a resolution of Congress, and a con- 
siderable number of men whose term was about ex- 



292 



GENERAL GREENE. 



piring were sent home. The Yorktown clothing had 
to be issued to them to fit them for their long march, 
and those who remained were as badly off as ever. 
Finally, in October, winter was coming on and some 
arrangements had to be made. At this time appeared 
in camp a man named John Banks, of the firm of 
Hunter & Banks, of Fredericksburg, Va. They were 
merchants of a speculative turn, and had lately been 
engaged in privateering. Banks had met Mr. Waties 
at Georgetown in the previous spring, and had then 
made a proposition for supplying the army which 
was favorably received; but before getting a reply 
he had obtained permission from the local comman- 
dant to visit Charleston. He now came forward with 
a proposition to supply the army with clothing, tak- 
ing his pay in bills on the Superintendent of Finance 
at par, provided he could be paid twelve hundred 
guineas in hard cash. An agent of Mr. Morris was 
present at Greene's headquarters with a small amount 
of ready money which he was authorized to dole out 
when Greene's difficulties became finally insurmount- 
able. With some difficulty Greene persuaded this 
agent to part with the twelve hundred guineas ; the 
bargain with Banks was carried out, and the army 
was clothed — "better clothed," said Wayne, " than I 
ever saw an American army before." 

The long months of inaction thus dragged slowly 
along, beset with petty difficulties of army house- 
keeping and devoid of any military operations of im- 
portance. As early as August Leslie had announced 
a speedy evacuation of Charleston, but from week 
to week it was postponed. Finally, on the 14th of 
December, the British filed through the streets and 
went on boards their ships, and Wayne, at the head of 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



293 



the American army, closely followed them. Greene 
and Governor Matthews rode into town at three 
o'clock in the afternoon, the entire population lining 
the streets to shout their welcome. 

The evacuation of Charleston did not, however, 
put an end to Greene's difificulties. Three months 
before. Congress had passed a resolution directing 
him to remain in the Southern States until further 
orders, to employ his troops offensively or defen- 
sively as he might think proper, and saying that it 
was indispensably necessary to keep a regular force 
in that department. When the evacuation of Charles- 
ton was arranged, Greene wrote to Washington ask- 
ing for instructions as to the disposition of the 
troops. Washington replied, giving him authority to 
march his troops to the northward, but leaving the 
time and manner almost wholly to his discretion. 
Greene was much in doubt what course to pursue. 
Peace was not yet signed, and he hesitated to leave 
the State defenseless in case hostilities should be 
resumed ; on the other hand, he wished to save fur- 
ther expense, and also to gratify the natural desire 
of the men to return home. Finally, on the 20th of 
April, he received news of the ratification of the pre- 
liminary articles between Great Britain and the 
United States. 

Greene's first act was to write to Washington, 
from whom he had recently received a most cordial 
letter, written on receipt of the news that Charleston 
was evacuated. The two letters are worth quoting 
somewhat at length, as showing the relations between 
the commander in chief and his principal subordi- 
nate after nearly eight years of service. Washing- 
ton's was dated at Newburg on February 6th, and 



294 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Greene's at Charleston on April 20, 1783. Washing- 
ton writes : " It is with a pleasure which friendship 
only is susceptible of that I congratulate you on the 
glorious end you have put to hostilities in the South- 
ern States. The honor and advantage of it I hope 
you will long live to enjoy. ... If historiographers 
should be hardy enough to fill the page of history 
with the advantages that have been gained with un- 
equal numbers on the part of America in the course 
of this contest, and attempt to relate the distressing 
circumstances under which they have been obtained, 
it is more than probable that posterity will bestow 
on their labors the epithet and marks of fiction ; for 
it will not be believed that such a force as Great 
Britain has employed for eight years in this country 
could be bafiled in their plan of subjugating it by 
numbers infinitely less, composed of men oftentimes 
half-starved, always in rags, and experiencing at 
times every species of distress which human nature 
is capable of undergoing. ... I let no opportunity 
slip to inquire after your son George at Princeton, 
and it is with pleasure I hear he enjoys good health 
and is a fine, promising boy. With great truth and sin- 
cerity and every sentiment of friendship, I am, etc." 
Greene's letter reads thus: " I beg leave to con- 
gratulate your Excellency upon the returning smiles 
of peace and the happy establishment of our inde- 
pendence. This important event must be doubly 
welcome to you, who have so successfully conducted 
the war, through such a variety of difficulties, to so 
happy a close. If universal respect and the general 
affections of a grateful country can compensate for 
the many painful hours which you have experienced 
in your country's cause, you are richly rewarded. 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



295 



Every heart feels and every tongue confesses the 
merit and importance of your services. The polite 
attention which I have experienced since I have had 
the honor to serve under your command claims my 
particular acknowledgment; and I feel a singular 
satisfaction in having preserved your confidence and 
esteem through the whole progress of the war, not- 
withstanding many jarring interests. ... I have the 
honor to be, with great respect and esteem, your 
Excellency's most obedient, humble servant." 

These two letters bring to mind those which 
passed between Grant and Sherman just eighty-one 
years later, when Grant left the West to assume com- 
mand of all the armies in the civil war. In fact, the 
relations between Washington and Greene were very 
similar to those which existed between Grant and 
Sherman ; and there are no more pleasing facts in 
all our history than these. The two chief soldiers 
in our two principal wars were constant friends from 
their first acquaintance till death separated them. 
No intrigue — and many were tried in both cases — 
could break or mar this friendship, or stir up jeal- 
ousy or discord. Each time there was a faithful, 
loyal subordinate, and a grateful, generous chief — 
both striving in harmony to achieve objects of sur- 
passing importance, and both succeeding in confer- 
ring priceless benefits on their countrymen and their 
descendants. 

Peace being now definitely assured, Greene no 
longer hesitated about sending his troops to their 
homes. As the march would be a long and fatiguing 
one, he arranged to get transports to take the Penn- 
sylvania and Maryland divisions, now reduced by 
battle and sickness to such small numbers that they 



296 GENERAL GREENE. 

were consolidated into one regiment each, by sea to 
Philadelphia. The Virginia and North Carolina 
troops marched home. The Delaware battalion had 
gone home in December. The South Carolina parti- 
sans were disbanded, and there were none from 
Georgia in service. The arrangements for the march 
and the vessels consumed much time, and it was not 
until July that the troops were all started to their 
destinations. As they left, Greene wrote a parting 
letter to the Governors of each of the six States 
within his command, commending the returning sol- 
diers to their care and gratitude, and saying: "Often 
in the worst of times have I assured them that their 
country would not be unmindful of their suffering 
and services ; and humbly, yet confidently, do I hope 
that their just claims will not be forgotten." 

While Greene was in Charleston, after its evacua- 
tion by the British, occurred an event which caused 
him the deepest mortification, clouded the rest of his 
life, subjected him to the most unjust and unmerited 
insinuations, and ended in the ruin of his pecuniary 
fortune. As we have seen, he had been compelled 
in October to disregard the State law and resort to 
impressment to obtain food for his starving army. 
But the State authorities were as much opposed to 
the practice as ever ; and when the new Legislature 
assembled in January, Greene was notified that the 
civil power of the State would be fully exercised to 
stop the practice. At that time Banks, who had 
succeeded in clothing the army, came forward and 
offered to take a contract to feed it at eleven pence 
per ration, and take his pay in bills on Morris. 
Though his price was considered high, yet no one else 
would undertake the contract on any terms, in spite 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



297 



of the fact that an advertisement inviting bidders had 
been published for more than three months. Banks's 
proposition was therefore accepted. This man had 
many schemes on hand besides feeding and clothing 
the army. He was speculating in various directions 
in anticipation of the change in prices that would re- 
sult from a declaration of peace, and he soon became 
deeply involved. Distrust of the value of the bills 
on Morris also began to spread, and Banks's credit- 
ors refused to advance him anything further. No 
one else would take the contract, and the only alter- 
native was to resort again to impressment, which 
would have brought on a most deplorable conflict 
between the civil and military authorities. The 
former were tired of seeing the soldiers remain, now 
that peace seemed assured, and they were for the 
moment ill-disposed toward Greene, because he had 
insisted on having certain engagements carried out 
which he had made with loyalists prior to the evacua- 
tion, and also because he was opposed to the harsh 
legislation which was proposed for confiscating their 
property and otherwise maltreating them. At this 
juncture the merchants proposed that if Greene would 
guarantee Banks's debts they would furnish the 
latter further credit, and would surrender the inter- 
est which Banks had assigned to them in the bills 
on Morris, For the purpose of keeping his men from 
starvation Greene agreed to this, and executed a 
bond of surety guaranteeing the debts of Banks. 
For his security Banks pledged all the bills he had 
received, both for the clothing and the feeding con- 
tracts; the merchants executed a release of their 
interest in them, and an agent was sent on to Phila- 
delphia during the latter part of May with an order 



298 



GENERAL GREENE. 



for them on Mr. Pettit (formerly associated with 
Greene in the Quartermaster General's Department), 
in whose hands they were reported to be. Before he 
could return, Greene started North, and, traveling 
leisurely, did not reach Philadelphia until the autumn. 
Then, to his dismay, he learned that Banks had previ- 
ously disposed of the bills in Pettit's hands, and that 
his security was lost. Banks meantime had gone 
into bankruptcy, with liabilities of over thirty thou- 
sand pounds. In the following summer (1784) 
Greene returned to South Carolina, and Banks's cred- 
itors demanded that Greene pay Banks's debts, ac- 
cording to his bond. They acknowledged that 
Greene had no interest in the matter except a desire 
to keep his men from starving, but nevertheless they 
demanded their money. Banks, hearing of Greene's 
arrival, immediately left for the interior of the State ; 
and Greene, mounting his horse and putting his pis- 
tols in his holsters, started in pursuit. He followed 
him for more than four hundred miles, mainly over 
the route of his own marches in 1781, only to overtake 
him on his death-bed in a raging fever and to see 
him expire. He then returned to Charleston, and 
endeavored to raise money in England by a mort- 
gage on his estates in South Carolina and Georgia, 
but in this he failed ; and he was obliged to sell his 
South Carolina plantation at a ruinous sacrifice, in 
order to get means to satisfy in part the claims of 
Banks's creditors. In the summer of 1785, on the 
advice of his friends, he laid the whole matter before 
Congress and asked for relief. But before action 
was taken Greene died. His widow was then left to 
prosecute the claim, warmly assisted by Hamilton 
and opposed by Sumter, who was then in Congress, 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



299 



and it was not until June, 1796, that relief was final- 
ly granted. 

Thus an act of kindness, imprudent in a business 
sense, but inspired by the generous motive of reliev- 
ing his suffering soldiers, led to endless trouble and 
pecuniary ruin. Lafayette had done the same thing 
on a small scale in purchasing clothing for his men 
when he went through Baltimore in 1781. His act 
led only to applause, and he was promptly reim- 
bursed by Congress. But in the confusion and weari- 
ness at the end of the war Greene's generosity was 
overlooked. 

Worse than this, his motives were impugned, and 
it was insinuated that he was a silent partner of 
Banks. To a man of Greene's temperament, con- 
scious of his own integrity, this was a blow tenfold 
heavier than the loss of fortune. What gave cur- 
rency to these rumors was the fact that two of 
Greene's own aids-de-camp, Majors Burnet and For- 
syth, had entered into partnership with Banks ; not 
specially with reference to the clothing and feeding 
contracts, but in his general speculations. Peace 
was approaching, and they had to look for some oc- 
cupation in private business. Without consulting 
Greene and without his knowledge, regardless of 
propriety, their own dignity and the reputation of 
their chief, they formed a business connection with 
the man who had received from their chief what was 
considered a lucrative contract. Finally, to complete 
the chain of unfortunate circumstances, Banks had 
written to a friend at the North, in a letter which 
was opened by the bearer, " I find General Greene an 
exceedingly agreeable man ; and, from hints dropped 
already, expect his proposals for an interest in a 



300 



GENERAL GREENE. 



house we may establish in Charleston." Greene's 
independent character had made him many enemies, 
as well as stanch friends, and when this letter of 
Banks's was made public, and it became known that 
two of Greene's aids-de-camp were interested in 
Banks's speculations, his enemies asserted that 
Greene had become surety for Banks's debts because 
he was his partner, and not because he wanted to 
keep the army from starving. What made the mat- 
ter all the more galling to Greene was the evident 
fact that he could not treat these rumors with silent 
contempt, but must notice and answer them. As he 
afterward said in laying the matter before Con- 
gress, ** I despise popular prejudices and disdain vul- 
gar suspicions"; but this was a case which must 
be met. Banks therefore published a card in which 
he declared that his only reason for imagining that 
General Greene desired a business connection with 
him arose from Major Burnet's negotiations with 
reference to himself; that he regretted having taken 
an improper liberty with General Greene's name, and 
that he had already declared " under the solemni- 
ty of an oath that he neither has, nor ever had, any 
commercial connection with me of a private nature, 
or intimated a wish or desire of the kind ; and also 
that he never granted me a flag in his life, or any 
other privilege or indulgence for commercial pur- 
poses." Greene also placed in the hands of Wayne 
and Carrington all the papers in the matter, includ- 
ing authority from the Secretary of War to procure 
clothing from Charleston, his acknowledgment of 
Greene's full reports of the transaction and his ap- 
proval thereof, and the satisfaction of the Superin- 
tendent of Finance, who was prepared to pay the 



CLOSE OF THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. 



301 



drafts on presentation. Greene asked Wayne and 
Carrington to examine the whole matter and state 
their conclusions. They did so, and fully approved 
of all his acts, and exonerated him from the slightest 
suspicion of wrongdoing. 

Further than this, there was nothing for Greene to 
do. His conduct throughout this humiliating inci- 
dent was dignified and proper, with one single excep- 
tion. He should have instantly dismissed his aids- 
de-camp. They had compromised his reputation in a 
manner wholly without justification. But they had 
served him faithfully and gallantly through five 
years of war; they had been with him in battle, and 
had suffered in common with him every possible 
hardship. One of them was now absent, carrying to 
Washington the news of the evacuation of Charles- 
ton. Both of them were soon to be thrown on the 
world to earn their livelihood as best they could. 
Greene could not bring himself to punish them, or 
even to treat them harshly. 

The subject may well be dismissed by quoting 
what Washington thought of it, from a letter written 
to Jeremiah Wadsworth, of Connecticut, soon after 
Greene's death : " Persuaded as I always have been 
of General Greene's integrity and worth, I spurned 
those reports which tended to calumniate his conduct 
in the connection with Banks, being perfectly con- 
vinced that, whenever the matter should be investi- 
gated, his motives for entering into it would appear 
pure and unimpeachable. I was not without my 
fears, though, that he might suffer in a pecuniary 
way by his engagement with that man. I would 
fain hope, however, that the case ultimately may be 
otherwise ; and that upon a final settlement of his 



302 



GENERAL GREENE. 



affairs there will be a handsome competency for Mrs. 
Greene and the children. But, should it turn out 
differently, and Mrs. Greene, yourself, and Mr. Rut- 
ledge should think proper to intrust my namesake, 
G. W. Greene, to my care, I will give him as good an 
education as this country (I mean North America) 
will afford ; and will bring him up to either of the 
genteel professions that his friends may choose, or 
his own inclination shall lead him to pursue, at my 
own cost and charge." 

Washington's generous intentions with reference 
to his namesake were not carried out, as Lafayette 
had previously made a similar offer, which was ac- 
cepted. The lad went abroad and was educated un- 
der Lafayette's care, until the troubles of the French 
Revolution caused his mother such anxiety as to 
induce her to recall him in 1794. Just after his re- 
turn, at the age of nineteen, he was drowned in an 
accident in the Savannah River. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH — l^S;^- 86. 

By the middle of July, 1783, all the arrangements 
had been completed for sending the troops to their 
homes. Greene then spent a short time in examin- 
ing the estates which had been given to him in South 
Carolina and Georgia, and on August 15th he began 
his long horseback ride of more than a thousand 
miles to Rhode Island. His wife had been with him 
during the last year of the war, having joined him in 
front of Charleston in March, 1782; but the journey 
overland was far too long for her, and she had gone 
North by water in the spring of 1783. Greene's 
route lay along the coast through Wilmington, Tar- 
borough, Halifax, Petersburg, Richmond, Freder- 
icksburg, Mount Vernon, Alexandria, Arlington, and 
Annapolis to Baltimore; thence over the battle 
grounds of 1777 to Philadelphia and on to Trenton, 
where, at the house of his old friend Colonel Cox, he 
met Washington and rode with him to Princeton, 
where Congress was in session. Here he parted 
from Washington for the last time, and, traveling 
through New York and Connecticut, reached Rhode 
Island at the close of November. At nearly every 
town he entered on his journey of fifteen weeks he 
was met by the local authorities and a delegation of 
citizens to present him an address of welcome and 



304 



GENERAL GREENE. 



ask him to stop and accept their hospitality. At the 
capitals of Virginia and Maryland he was specially 
received by the Legislature and given a vote of 
thanks for his distinguished services. When he 
reached Princeton he addressed a letter to the Presi- 
dent of Congress stating that it was going on nine 
years since he had had an opportunity to visit his 
family or friends, and asking permission to return 
to Rhode Island, having already obtained the per- 
mission of the Commander in Chief. A committee 
was appointed to prepare a suitable resolution, and 
on their report Congress resolved that he have per- 
mission to visit his family in Rhode Island ; and that 
two pieces of field ordnance, taken from the British 
army at Cowpens, Augusta, or Eutaw, be presented 
to him " as a public testimonial of the wisdom, forti- 
tude, and military skill which distinguished his com- 
mand in the Southern Department, and of the emi- 
nent services which, amid complicated difficulties 
and dangers and against an enemy greatly superior 
in numbers, he has successfully performed for his 
country." The pieces were ordered to be suitably 
engraved, expressive of the substance of the resolu- 
tion. When he reached Rhode Island, the towns of 
Newport and Providence and the State Legislature 
voted him addresses and thanks. But probably even 
more gratifying was the reception he met on his ar- 
rival at his old home in Warwick, where the Kentish 
Guards turned out to cordially welcome him and to 
claim the honor of having given him his first mili- 
tary instruction. 

During his long absence he had lost all connec- 
tion with the business of the forge at Coventry. He 
had sold his interest to his brothers, asking them to 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 



305 



use the proceeds in such manner as they saw fit. 
They had invested it in privateers and had lost it 
all. Having nothing to keep him in Coventry, he 
fixed his residence at Newport, and there passed the 
winter with his wife and four children, whom now for 
the first time he saw together. He took a house oil 
Mill Street, nearly opposite the old stone mill, and it 
was his intention to pass the summer months here and 
the rest of the year on his plantation in South Caro- 
lina. But early in the summer of 1784 he was obliged 
to go South, as we have already seen, in connection 
with the obligations he had assumed for Banks. 
These led to the sacrifice of his South Carolina es- 
tate, and the necessity of his living in a much more 
restricted manner than he had planned. He gave 
up his Newport home and decided to live on his 
Georgia plantation. Mulberry Grove, where he took 
his family in the autumn of 1785. 

Immediately after his arrival he received a chal- 
lenge to a duel with Captain Gunn. This officer, as 
already stated, had made improper use of public 
horses in 1782, and Greene had brought him to trial. 
The Court having acquitted him, Greene disapproved 
the proceedings and referred the matter to Con- 
gress. This body not only confirmed his action, but 
passed a special resolution expressing its satisfaction 
therewith, approving the principles laid down in his 
orders, condemning the action of the Court, directing 
Captain Gunn to replace the horse he had sold, and 
announcing that any officer convicted of a similar 
offense hereafter should be deemed guilty of a breach 
of the Twelfth Article of War — i. e., be guilty of em- 
bezzlement and be dismissed from the service. Gunn 
had nursed his wrath for three years, during which 



3o6 



GENERAL GREENE. 



time he had married a lady of fortune, settled in 
Georgia, and gone prominently into politics. He 
now demanded personal satisfaction for Greene's of- 
ficial acts. Such a proceeding in these days would 
seem preposterous. But at that time the views about 
dueling were such that, no matter what might be 
the cause of the challenge, a public man could only 
reject a challenge at the peril of his reputation. 
Hamilton sacrificed his life in deference to this preju- 
dice. Greene was not insensible to the prejudice, 
but after mature deliberation he determined to dis- 
regarded it. He declined the challenge, stating his 
reasons in a courteous letter to Colonel Jackson, 
who was Gunn's second. Jackson then withdrew 
from the affair ; but Gunn sent a second challenge 
through another officer. To this Greene declined 
any answer further than a reference to his letter to 
Colonel Jackson. Gunn then sent him word that 
he should attack him wherever he met him. Greene 
merely remarked that he should always carry pistols. 
The matter then dropped, and, fortunately, the two 
men never met. 

Greene, in this as in every important act of his 
since the beginning of the war, wished to feel sure of 
Washington's approbation. He therefore wrote to 
him a full account of the affair, and said : " If a com- 
manding officer is bound to give satisfaction to every 
officer who may pretend to be injured (and this pre- 
tense would not be wanting to try to wipe off the 
stain of public trial and condemnation), it places him 
in a more disagreeable situation than had ever oc- 
curred to me before. But as I may have mistaken the 
line of responsibility of a commanding officer, I wish 
for your sentiments upon the subject. It is possible 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 



307 



you may be placed, by the ignorance of some or the 
imprudence of others, in the same predicament, 
though I believe few will be hardy enough to try such 
an experiment. If I thought my honor or reputation 
would suffer in the opinion of the world, and more 
especially with the military gentlemen, I value life 
too little to hesitate a moment to answer the chal- 
lenge. But when I consider the nature of the pre- 
cedent, and the extent of the mischief it may pro- 
duce, I have felt a necessity to reject it." 

Washington replied : " I give it as my decided 
opinion that your honor and reputation will stand not 
only perfectly acquitted for the nonacceptance of 
the challenge, but that your prudence and judgment 
would have been condemned for accepting it, be- 
cause, if a commanding officer is amenable to private 
calls for the discharge of his public duty, he has a 
dagger always at his breast, and can turn neither 
to the right hand nor the left without meeting its 
point. In a word, he is no longer a free agent in 
office, as there are few military decisions which are 
not offensive to one party or the other. ... A prece- 
dent of the sort once established in the army would 
no doubt have been followed up, and in that case 
would unquestionably have produced a revolution, 
but of a very different kind from that which, happily 
for America, has prevailed." 

During the few years which intervened between 
the close of the war and Greene's death public office 
of different kinds was offered to him. His name 
was suggested for Secretary of War when Lincoln 
resigned in 1784; in the same year he was appointed 
by Congress a commissioner to negotiate a general 
peace with the Indians ; and on his settling in Geor- 



308 GENERAL GREENE. 

gia he was appointed County Judge. But he de- 
clined each in succession, being firmly determined to 
lead the life of a private gentleman. Even the So- 
ciety of the Cincinnati failed to interest him. He 
was made president of the Rhode Island Branch, but 
he never attended a meeting. In the spring of 1784 
Washington wrote urging him to attend the meeting 
which was to be held, to meet the opposition which 
had been aroused against the hereditary principle of 
the society. He was suffering at the time from a re- 
lapse of the fever which he had had in each year of 
his service in the South, and was thus unable to at- 
tend. But his reply to Washington showed that he 
took little interest in the matter. It is possible that 
he did not fully approve the rules of the society. 
Gordon asserts that, in conversation with him, Greene 
intimated that such was the case. 

In spite of his indisposition to enter public life, 
however, he could not remain wholly indifferent to 
the important public questions which arose immedi- 
ately after the war. His correspondence with Rob- 
ert Morris, Hamilton, Governor Reed, of Pennsyl- 
vania, and finally with Washington, was now almost 
entirely devoted to questions of politics. The cor- 
respondence with Morris had in fact begun in 1780, 
and one of the first letters from Greene shows such 
a remarkable grasp of the situation, and outlines so 
plainly the history of the next seven years, that it is 
well to give somewhat lengthy extracts from it. Af- 
ter arguing in favor of a regular army enlisted for 
the war, and showing that public credit had been 
ruined by sporting with the national faith and trying 
to redeem the currency at forty for one, he says: 
*' What is to be done .'' I will tell you in a few words : 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 



309 



Call a convention of the States and establish a Con- 
gress upon a constitutional footing. Give them full 
powers to govern the empire, and make them ac- 
countable for their conduct ; and oblige them to es- 
tablish boards for all executive business, independent 
of their body. . . . Congress, upon their present 
footing, have not powers to govern the empire ; nor 
will the people ever have confidence in this body of 
men upon the present Constitution. It is my opinion 
that, unless we have some supreme power to govern 
the empire, and that have authority to bring the 
force and resources of the States all to one point, 
we can never support the contest." Many people 
thought that the solution of the difficulty was in ap- 
pointing a dictator ; but Greene had no such idea. 
He was " in great doubt whether there would be as 
prompt obedience from the people at large under a 
dictator as under a congress vested with ample pow- 
er to command the resources of the country." He 
was very clear, however, that Congress should be 
limited solely to legislative functions. " I would ad- 
vise the appointment of a minister of war and a min- 
ister of finance ; and let merit, and not family and 
fortune, direct the choice of these persons. The 
business of Congress should be merely legislative, 
and not executive." Here was the essence of the 
ideas which were finally adopted seven years later. 
In the following spring the idea of ministers of war 
and finance was accepted in Congress, and a few 
days later the Articles of Confederation, which had 
been under consideration for nearly four years, were 
at last ratified by all the States. But they con- 
tained the fatal defect of leaving the revenues to 
be raised by the Legislatures of the several States 



3IO 



GENERAL GREENE. 



and by them paid over to Congress. The States 
failed to comply with their obligation. Congress 
therefore, in February, 1781, recommended to the 
several States, " as indispensably necessary, that they 
vest a power in Congress to levy for the use of the 
United States a duty of five per cent ad valorem " 
upon imports. But this plan never went into effect. 
To Greene's mortification, Rhode Island was always 
obstinately opposed to it. Georgia also failed to 
give its assent, and Virginia and South Carolina, 
which had at first adopted it, subsequently repealed 
the acts. Greene saw clearly that without power to 
raise its own revenues the Confederation was a rope 
of sand, and for the last two years of his life his cor- 
respondence about political affairs almost always 
turned on this question. He did his utmost, both at 
the South and at the North, to secure its adoption by 
the State Legislatures, but without success. He 
feared that, unless a stronger central government 
was formed, the Confederation would dissolve; and 
in writing to Washington from Charleston, in the 
summer of 1784, he says: "Many people secretly 
wish that every State should be completely inde- 
pendent, and that, as soon as our public debts are 
liquidated. Congress should be no more — a plan that 
would be as fatal to our happiness at home as it 
would be ruinous to our interest abroad." As in 
1775 he had recommended a declaration of inde- 
pendence, so in 1785 he advocated a union of the 
States into one nation, with a central government 
endowed with sufficient power to collect its own 
revenues and make itself respected. 

But at the latter date his thoughts were mainly 
turned to the establishment of his Southern home 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 311 

and the pleasures which he anticipated therein. He 
was charmed with Mulberry Grove, and found it in a 
much less injured condition than he expected. " The 
prospect is delightful and the house magnificent. 
We have a coach house and stables, a large out- 
kitchen, and a poultry house, . . . with a pigeon 
house on the top which will contain not less than a 
thousand pigeons. Besides these are several other 
buildings convenient for a family, and among the 
rest a fine smokehouse. The garden is in ruins, but 
there are still a great variety of shrubs and flowers 
in it." Here he expected to live and enjoy life. 
Anthony Wayne was on the adjoining plantation, 
and another of his intimate friends. Governor Reed, 
of Pennsylvania, was proposing to move South the 
following year and settle in his neighborhood. Cap- 
tain Pendleton, of Virginia, one of his aids-de- 
camp, had established himself in Savannah, only 
fourteen miles down the river. Greene had a large, 
comfortable house, with plenty of books in the libra- 
ry, and horses in the stable, both his wife and him- 
self being very fond of horseback riding. His chil- 
dren were about him. He seemed to have everything 
he wished for, and, but for the cloud of the Banks 
trouble, his happiness was complete. With the open- 
ing of spring the farmer was full of business. " This 
is a busy time with us, and I can afford but a small 
portion of time to write. We are planting. We have 
got upward of sixty acres of corn planted, and ex- 
pect to plant one hundred and thirty of rice. The 
garden is delightful. The fruit trees and flowering 
shrubs form a pleasing variety. We have green peas 
almost fit to eat, and as fine lettuce as you ever saw. 
The weather is mild, and the vegetable kingdom pro- 



312 



GENERAL GREENE. 



gressing to perfection. . . . We have in the same 
orchard apples, pears, peaches, apricots, nectarines, 
plums of different kinds, figs, pomegranates, and 
oranges. And we have strawberries which measure 
three inches around." What more charming picture 
could there be than this, after eight years of war and 
anxiety and privation ? All his energy and enthusi- 
asm were now enlisted in his new occupation of 
planter, and he bade fair to be as famous a farmer 
as soldier. But the Southern sun produces not only 
figs and pomegranates and nectarines, but deadly 
diseases as well ; and two months after writing this 
joyous letter Greene's dead body was in the vault at 
Savannah. 

On the 1 2th of June he was called to Savannah 
to meet one of Banks's creditors. His wife drove 
into town with him, and they passed the night at 
Captain Pendleton's house. They started home in 
the cool of the morning, but Greene's enthusiasm as 
a planter led him to stop at a neighbor's plantation 
on the way and examine his rice fields. They were 
extensive, and Greene spent several hours in the 
middle of the day examining them. His neighbor 
(Mr. Williams) carried an umbrella, but Greene had 
campaigned so long that he neglected this precau- 
tion. Driving home in the afternoon, his head began 
to ache; the next day the pains in his head were in- 
tense, and there was a swelling of the forehead. 
Captain Pendleton came, and two physicians were 
summoned. Cupping and blisters were about the 
limit of their science. Wayne came over from his 
plantation and watched by his bedside day and 
night. The pains and inflammation increased, until 
finally relief came in a stupor from which he never 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 



313 



roused. A little after daybreak on June 19, 1786, 
he ceased breathing. " Mad Anthony " Wayne, the 
same who had stormed Stony Point, sat down, over- 
whelmed with grief, to write a few words to Colonel 
Jackson, asking him to make arrangements for the 
funeral, " My dear friend General Greene is no 
more. . . , He was great as a soldier, greater as a 
citizen, immaculate as a friend. . . . Pardon this 
scrawl ; my feelings are but too much affected, be- 
cause I have seen a great and good man die." 

The next morning his body was taken down the 
river in a boat to Savannah. The militia of the ad- 
joining counties turned out, the artillery at Fort 
Wayne fired minute guns, the shipping in the harbor 
hung their flags at half mast, all business in the town 
was suspended, and the citizens in mass attended the 
funeral of the man who had reconquered the South 
from the British. 

The news of his death traveled northward as fast 
as the means of communication of that day per- 
mitted, and everywhere produced profound sorrow 
and surprise. Lee, then in Congress, was the first to 
convey the intelligence to Washington. *' Your friend 
and second, the patriot and noble Greene, is no 
more. Universal grief reigns here. How hard is 
the fate of the United States to lose such a man in 
the middle of life ! Irreparable loss ! " 

Lee was also chairman of a committee upon 
whose report, on August 8, 1786, Congress passed a 
resolution in these words: 

^^Resolved, That a monument be erected to the 
memory of Nathanael Greene, Esq., at the seat of the 
Federal Government, with the following inscription : 
Sacred to the memory of Nathanael Greene, Esq., a 



314 



GENERAL GREENE. 



native of the State of Rhode Island, who died on the 
19th of June, 1786 ; late Major General in the service 
of the United States, and commander of their army 
in the Southern Department. 

"The United States in Congress assembled, in 
honor of his patriotism, valor, and ability, have 
erected this monument. 

'■'■ Resolved, That the Board of Treasury take order 
for the due execution of the foregoing resolution." 

The order remained unexecuted for ninety years, 
but in 1875, at the instance of the senators from 
Rhode Island, the necessary money was appropri- 
ated, and two years later an admirable equestrian 
statute in bronze, by Henry K. Brown, was erected 
on the public square at the intersection of Massa- 
chusetts and Maryland Avenues, in Washington. 



Thus died, at the early age of not quite forty-four, 
the man of whom Sparks said that " he may justly 
be regarded as the most extraordinary man in the 
Army of the Revolution." The words are care- 
fully chosen. He was not the greatest man of 
the Revolution, for Washington, by common con- 
sent, had no rival. But when v/e consider Greene's 
early education, the suddenness with which he leaped 
from obscurity to high military command, the great 
services he rendered in organizing the Quartermas- 
ter General's Department, his unflagging devotion 
to the service (Washington and himself being the 
only ones of the generals at Boston who served con- 
tinuously through the eight years of the war), the 
skill with which he conducted the military operations 
at the South, and the solidity of the results which 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 



315 



he accomplished there — when we consider these, and 
remember his youth and his total lack of experi- 
ence at the outbreak of the war, we see that he was 
indeed the most remarkable man among the soldiers 
of the Revolution, and that there was " no one whose 
reputation and advancement can with more justice 
be attributed exclusively to personal merit." 

His fame rests upon his military achievements, 
for his short service in the Rhode Island Assembly 
was unimportant. What the future would have 
brought him had he lived to the age he had reason 
to expect, is mere conjecture. And yet such con- 
jecture is not wholly idle. With his vigorous con- 
stitution, outdoor life and temperate habits, he had 
fairly thirty years more to look forward to. This 
period would have carried him through Washington's 
administration, the quarrel between Hamilton and 
Jefferson, the threatened war with France, the defeat 
of the Federalists, the long bickering with England, 
and finally the war of 181 2. In all of these events, so 
important in determining the future of the Republic, 
he would necessarily have been a prominent factor. 
Of his talents for civil administration we have no 
very positive proofs, yet such experience as he had 
had before the war broke out had been in the direc- 
tion of civil rather than military affairs. Of his mili- 
tary genius there is no question, and there is reason 
to believe that he would have developed equally 
great powers as a statesman. Hamilton was fully 
convinced of this, and in his eulogy on Greene, al- 
ready quoted, he speaks of " the vast, I had almost 
said the enormous, powers of his mind. . . . The 
sudden termination of his life cut him off from those 
scenes which the progress of a new, immense, and 



3i6 GENERAL GREENE. 

unsettled empire could not fail to open to the com- 
plete exertion of that universal and pervading genius 
which qualified him not less for the Senate than for 
the field." And Washington, writing soon after his 
death, speaks of " the loss [that] the public has sus- 
tained by the death of this valuable character, espe- 
cially at this crisis, ivhe7i the political machine seems to 
portend the most awful events'' We have glimpses of 
what induced these opinions in Greene's correspond- 
ence about political affairs. He was a close student, 
and thought much on them, though he had no part 
in them. His shrewd reasoning while at Boston con- 
cerning the probability of a French alliance ; his clear 
ideas as to the advisability of a declaration of inde- 
pendence and the proper military means for carrying 
on the war ; his prompt appreciation of the weakness 
of Congress, the evils which this would produce, and 
the necessity for a more perfect union ; his sound 
views about currency and finance expressed in his 
letters to Robert Morris — all tend to show that with 
the responsibility and experience arising from active 
participation in public affairs he would have come to 
prominence in politics as quickly as he did in war. 
His name was twice suggested for the office of Sec- 
retary of War — once when the office was established, 
in 1781, and again when Benjamin Lincoln resigned, 
in 1784. In each case he positively declined to con- 
sider the appointment. After so many years of war 
and separation, his one thought was a quiet home, 
surrounded by his wife, to whom he was devotedly at- 
tached, and his children of whom he had seen so little, 
and of whom he wrote with unaffected simplicity, "I 
have a family whom I dearly love." But after a few 
years of rest he would have felt the longing for action, 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH. 



317 



and there is little doubt that, had he been living in 
1789, he would have been called to the Cabinet by 
Washington in a manner that would have admitted of 
no refusal. Once there, his natural inclinations would 
have led him into the Federal party, as a warm and 
vigorous ally of Hamilton, bringing him additional 
strength in his struggle with Jefferson. It is not 
impossible that his good judgment and tact in dealing 
with men might have averted the disaster to which 
John Adams led the Federalists in 1800. At all 
events, he, and not Hamilton, would naturally have 
been appointed general in chief at the time of Wash- 
ington's death, when war with France seemed immi- 
nent, and at the outbreak of the war with England, 
in 181 2 he would have been the chief military man 
in the country. It is safe to say that the wretched 
blunders and defeats of that war would not have 
taken place under his administration. 

But all of these possibilities were cut short by 
the sunstroke on the banks of the Savannah River 
in June, 1786. It only remains to consider his actual 
military career. In studying this we must remember 
that he was not a trained soldier, commanding part 
or all of a regular army. He was a self-educated 
man, who among his studies had included that of 
the military art simply as a means to an end. He 
was brought up in an atmosphere where the old- 
fashioned ideas of militia prevailed. When war came 
he discarded these ideas instantly, and did all in his 
power to persuade others to do the same. A force 
enlisted for the war, ready to go wherever ordered, 
subject to the orders of one commander in chief, 
uniformly armed, equipped, and disciplined — this 
was his conception of the force needed to fight the 



3i8 



GENERAL GREENE. 



soldiers of Great Britain. These ideas are common- 
place and universal to-day, but in 1775 they were 
novel and original ; to the majority of the colonists 
they seemed little less than dangerous, and subver- 
sive of all liberty. His chief task, therefore, as a 
brigade and division com.mander, as quartermaster 
general, and as commanding general at the South, 
was to introduce order, discipline, and system in his 
command, and to keep his men fed, clothed, and 
armed in the absence of all those resources, without 
which an army ordinarily can not exist. What he 
accomplished in these directions seemed then, and 
still appears now, incredible. 

But if he was not a trained soldier, in command of 
a regular force, he had all the instincts of a soldier of 
the highest grade. The conditions in other wars were 
so dissimilar that it is difficult to compare him with 
other soldiers, with Sherman or Sheridan, or with 
the famous lieutenants of Napoleon and Frederick. 
He can, however, be easily compared with his fel- 
low-soldiers of the Revolution, and it is safe to say 
that in the strictly military domain of strategy and 
tactics he had no superior among them, not even 
the immortal Washington himself. He showed these 
qualities clearly while yet a subordinate, in command 
of a division at Trenton and Monmouth and New- 
port, and above all at the Brandywine, when he 
moved his men for nearly four miles at the double 
quick toward the sound of the cannon. He had the 
true military eye for topography and the choice of a 
position, and he coupled with this a quick decision 
in the changing events of battle. The formation of 
his troops for attack or defense was in strict accord- 
ance with military principles — the infantry in two or 



CLOSING YEARS AND DEATH- 



319 



three lines, the cavalry on the flanks, and the artil- 
lery in the intervals ; the best troops in the second 
or third line, the action opened by the artillery, and 
the reserve brought up at the decisive moment ; the 
cavalry well in advance on the march to learn the 
enemy's movements and in battle threatening the 
enemy's flanks, leading in pursuit after a victory or 
covering the retreat after a defeat. 

All of these principles were more scientifically 
applied under his command at the South than at any 
other time during the war. In spite of this, he was 
clearly defeated at Guilford and Hobkirk's Hill ; he 
lost the siege of Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs was 
at best a drawn battle. The cause in each case was 
the inexperience and lack of discipline in a portion 
of his troops, due not to any defect in the individual 
qualities of the men, but to their short service and 
want of training. In each of these battles there 
was a critical moment when victory might have 
been secured by a final desperate effort ; but if 
the effort failed, destruction was inevitable. It is 
an interesting subject of discussion whether he 
should have made this effort. To a man of his im- 
pulsive temperament the temptation to do so must 
have been great. But in each case he resisted it, 
and adhered to his deliberate intention never to 
place his little army within the possibility of de- 
struction. In this he certainly showed great self- 
control, and it is fair to accept the verdict of his 
contemporaries, who universally applauded his pru- 
dence. But if his battles failed through the imper- 
fection of the tools with which he had to work, he 
showed the talent of a master workman in that por- 
tion of his task which depended on himself alone. 



320 GENERAL GREENE. 

In the rapidity of his retreat to the Dan, the prompt- 
ness with which he then turned on Cornwallis and 
pursued him to Guilford, the boldness with which he 
disregarded Cornwallis and carried the war back into 
South Carolina, and the skill with which he ma- 
noeuvred around the head waters of the streams, 
always keeping his back to the mountains, and 
finally pushed a much superior force into the forti- 
fications of Charleston and held them there — in all 
his strategic combinations his plans were so well 
laid that, in spite of temporary defeat in battle, the 
ultimate end of each campaign was fully achieved. 

His personal character was very attractive. He 
had a frank, confiding, loyal nature, above petty 
meanness of any sort. He made strong friendships 
among those with whom he was associated, and, 
though a strict disciplinarian, he was respected and 
beloved by his men. He showed ill temper and a lack 
of calm judgment in his controversy with Congress 
while quartermaster general, but it must be admit- 
ted that the provocation was very great. On the 
other hand, when he arrived at chief command, he 
exhibited rare patience and tact in dealing with the 
complaints and jealousies of the officers who served 
under him. He was devoted to his wife and children, 
and in all his family relations his life was exemplary. 
He showed proper respect to his superiors, but he 
never cringed to any man. His loyalty to Washing- 
ton never failed for one moment, either in deed or 
thought. 

Taken all in all, he was a fine type of that sturdy 
New England manhood which has been so potent in 
shaping the destinies of the Western world. 



INDEX 



Adams, John, correspondence 
with Greene, 37, 38, 40, 68, 

73. 75- 

Alliance with France, 105. 

Andre, Major John, trial and 
execution of, 154, 157. 

Arnold, General Benedict, at 
Philadelphia, 77 ; treason at 
West Point, 154, 157 ; opera- 
tions in Virginia, 203, 205. 

Augusta, siege of, 250. 

Balfour, Colonel Nisbet, 260. 

Bancroft, George, historian, criti- 
cisms on Greene at Long Is- 
land, 38 ; at Fort Washing- 
ton, 53 ; at Trenton, 66 ; at 
Germantown, 90. 

Banks, John, speculator, receives 
contract to clothe the South- 
em army, 292 ; receives con- 
tract for feeding the Southern 
army, 296 ; becomes financial- 
ly embarrassed, and induces 
Greene to become surety for 
his debts, 297 ; fraudulently 
disposes of the security, 298 ; 
flees before Greene, 298 ; his 
death, 298 ; makes statement 



in regard to his transactions 
with Greene, 300. 

Brandy wine, battle of, 81. 

British forces in South Caro- 
lina, strength of, 178, 190, 199, 
215, 282. 

British posts in South Carolina, 

234. 235- 
Brown, John, merchant in Provi- 
dence, letter from Greene to, 

121. 

Browne, Lieut.-Colonel Thomas, 
at siege of Augusta, 235, 250, 
251 ; at Savannah, 285. 

Burnet, Major, aide-de-camp to 
Greene, involved in specula- 
tion with Banks, 299, 300; 
compromises Greene, 301. 

Butt's Hill, on Rhode Island, 
engagement at, 114. 

Camden, battle of, 165 ; occu- 
pied and fortified by the Brit- 
ish, 180, 234, 238. 

Campbell, Colonel Richard, at 
Guilford, 217, 219, 222 ; at 
Hobkirk's Hill, 240 ; at Nine- 
ty-Six, 257 ; at Eutaw Springs, 
270, 272 ; killed, 273. 



322 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Charleston, siege of, 162 ; plans 
for combined land and naval 
attack after fall of Yorktown, 
277, 279, 280 ; evacuated, 292. 

Cincinnati, order of the, Greene's 
lack of interest in it, 308. 

Clinton, General Sir Henry, at 
Long Island, 41 ; succeeds 
Howe as commander in chief, 
99 ; at Monmouth, loi ; at 
Newport, 115, 146; defeated 
at Charleston, 162 ; captures 
Charleston, 164 ; instructions 
to Cornwallis, 179 ; sends re- 
enforcements to the South, 
182, 204, 233 ; controversy 
with Cornwallis, 244, 245. 

Cornwallis, Lieutenant-General, 
Earl, at Long Island, 41 ; at 
Fort Washington, 56 ; at Fort 
Lee, 60 ; at Trenton, 61, 64 ; 
at Princeton, 65 ; at West- 
field, 78; at Brandywine, 8r, 
83 ; at Germantown, 89 ; in 
East Jersey, 91 ; at siege of 
Charleston, 164 ; in command 
at the South, 177 ; advances 
into North Carolina, 181, 183 ; 
instructions to Tarleton, 186 ; 
advances to the Dan, 191- 
203 ; retreats to Hillsborough, 
206 ; manoeuvres near Guil- 
ford, 210; gains victory at 
Guilford, 217 ; retreats to the 
seacoast, 229 ; marches to 
Virginia, 244 ; controversy 
with Clinton, 245. 

Cowpens, battle of, 187. 

Cruger, Lieutenant - Colonel 
John H., in South Carolina, 



179 ; at Ninety-Six, 235 ; de- 
fends Ninety-Six, 249, 252, 
253, 259; evacuates Ninety- 
Six, 261 ; at Eutaw Springs, 
271, 272. 

De Grasse, Admiral, Count, 
captures Rawdon, 262 ; ar- 
rival at Yorktown, 277 ; de- 
clines to attack Charleston, 
279 ; captured by Rodney, 
280. 

De Lancey, Colonel Oliver, 179, 
258. 

D'Estaing, Admiral, Count, at 
Sandy Hook, 105 ; at New- 
port, 108, III ; at Boston, 
114 ; sails to the West Indies, 
120. 

Du Coudray, General, proposed 
appointment of, as chief of ar- 
tillery, 71 ; death of, 75. 

Duponceau, Peter Stephen, Steu- 
ben's secretary, remarks about 
Mrs. Greene, 95. 

Duval, Lieutenant, leads storm- 
ing party at Ninety-Six, 258 ; 
killed at Eutaw Springs, 273. 

Eutaw Springs, battle of, 271 ; 
relation of this battle to 
Yorktown, 275. 

Ferguson, Major Patrick, 181. 
Finances, condition of, 118. 
Fiske, John, historian, opinion 

of Greene, 171, 
Fort Galpin, capture of, 250. 
Fort Granby, 235 ; capture of, 

243 ; occupied by Sumter, 

255- 



INDEX. 



323 



Fort Lee, headquarters of 

Greene, 49 ; evacuated, 60. 
Fort Motte, 234 ; capture of, 

243- 
Fort Washington, capture of, 

49. 56, 59- 
Fox, Charles James, comments 

on the battle of Guilford, 226. 

Gates, General Horatio, at Bos- 
ton, 25 ; opposition to Wash- 
ington, 59, 97, 126 ; appoint- 
ed to command in the South, 
165 ; defeated at Camden, 
I53» 159. 165 ; succeeded by- 
Greene, 167, 171 ; restored to 
duty, 172. 

Germantown, battle of, 87. 

Cornell, Sergeant, ringleader in 
a mutiny, 2S8 ; hanged, 288. 

Grant, General U. S., corre- 
spondence with Sherman in 
1864, 295. 

Greene, Catharine Littlefield, 
wife of General Greene, mar- 
riage, 16 ; at Boston, 28 ; at 
Morristown, 68 ; at Valley 
Forge, 94 ; dances with Wash- 
ington at Middlebrook, 123 ; 
starts for West Point, 160 ; let- 
ter from her husband in South 
Carolina, 268 ; Washington 
offers to assist in the edu- 
cation of her children, 302 ; 
returns to Rhode Island at 
the close of the war, 303 ; 
herself and family reunited 
with her husband in their 
Georgia home, 311, 312. 

Greene, Colonel Christopher, 17, 



19 ; defends Red Bank, 91 ; 
at Newport, 115. 

Greene, John, ancestor of Gen- 
eral Greene, i, 5, 6. 

Greene, Nathanael, father of 
General Greene, 4. 

Greene, Nathanael, ancestry, i ; 
education, 4 ; member of As- 
sembly, 10 ; marriage, 16 ; 
military studies, 17 ; in com- 
mand of Rhode Island troops, 
19 ; at Boston, 23 ; corre- 
spondence with Governor 
Ward, 30 ; at Long Island, 
35 ; appointed major general, 
35 ; correspondence with John 
Adams, 38 ; at Harlem 
Heights, 47 ; at Fort Lee, 
49 ; at Fort Washington, 51, 
56, 59 ; at Trenton, 62, 66 ; 
at Morristown, 68 ; protests 
against appointment of M. du 
Coudray as chief of artillery, 
71 ; engagement at Bruns- 
wick, 78 ; at Brandywine, 82 ; 
at Germantown, 87 ; at Valley 
Forge, 94 ; appointed quarter- 
master general, 98 ; at Mon- 
mouth, loi ; reproved by 
Washington, 104 ; at New- 
port, 106 ; at Butt's Hill, 114 ; 
at Middlebrook, 123 ; diffi- 
culties of the Quartermaster's 
Department, 124 ; approved 
by Congress, 130 ; controver- 
sy with Congress, 134 ; en- 
gagement at Springfield, 139 ; 
resigns as quartermaster gen- 
eral, 144 ; action of Congress 
on his resignation, 147 ; in 



324 



GENERAL GREENE. 



command of the army on the 
Hudson, 154 ; president of 
board to try Andre, 155 ; as- 
signed to command at West 
Point, 159 ; appointed to com- 
mand the Southern army, 161 ; 
arrival at Charlotte, 171 ; 
strength and condition of his 
army, 173 ; opens the cam- 
paign, 183 ; retreats to the 
Dan, 194 ; pursues Cornwal- 
lis, 206 ; defeated at Guil- 
ford, 216 ; again pursues 
Cornwallis. 229 ; carries the 
war into South Carolina, 230, 
237 ; defeated at Hobkirk's 
Hill, 239 ; captures the Brit- 
ish posts in South Carolina, 
243 ; advances against Ninety- 
Six, 247 ; siege of Ninety- 
Six, 253 ; retires from Ninety- 
Six, 259 ; pursues Rawdon to 
Orangeburg, 261 ; goes into 
camp at High Hills of San tee, 
262, 264 ; his efforts to secure 
re-enforcements, money, and 
supplies for his army, 265, 
266, 267 ; advances against 
Stuart, 269 ; fights battle at 
Eutaw Springs, 270-276 ; 
recommends to Washington 
an attack upon Charleston, 
277-280 ; receives re-enforce- 
ments from Yorktown, 281, 
284 ; advances to Charleston, 
283 ; sends Wayne to conquer 
Georgia, 284 ; receives resolu- 
tions of thanks and awards of 
land from the Legislatures of 
Georgia, South Carolina and 



North Carolina, 286 ; his diffi- 
culties in securing food and 
clothing for the army, 288-293; 
takes possession of Charles- 
ton and ends hostilities, 292 ; 
his correspondence with Wash- 
ington on the termination of 
the war, 294 ; comparison 
with letters of Grant and 
Sherman, 295 ; guarantees the 
obligations of Banks in re- 
gard to feeding the army, 
297 ; loses the bulk of his 
fortune in consequence there- 
of, 298 ; is accused of hold- 
ing improper relations with 
Banks, 299 ; is fully acquitted 
of the charge, 300, 301 ; re- 
turns to Rhode Island, 303, 
305 ; receives thanks of Con- 
gress and State legislatures, 
304 ; challenged to a duel 
with Captain Gunn, 305 ; de- 
clines all public office, 307 ; 
correspondence with Robert 
Morris concerning political 
affairs, 308 ; establishes his 
home on his Georgia planta- 
tion, 311 ; dies, 312 ; estimate 
of his services and character, 

315- 

Greene, Governor William, 14, 
16. 

Guilford Court House, battle of, 
216. 

Gunby, Colonel, conduct at 

~~ Hobkirk's Hill, 241. 

Gunn, Captain, makes improper 
use of public horses, 289 ; chal- 
lenges Greene to a duel, 305. 



INDEX. 



32s 



Hamilton, Alexander, noticed 
by Greene while drilling his 
company at New York, 37 ; 
appointed secretary to Wash- 
ington, 66 ; at Valley Forge, 
94 ; resigns from Washing- 
ton's staff, 104 ; advises Greene 
in his controversy with Con- 
gress, 137 ; informs Greene of 
Andre's treason, 154 ; advo- 
cates legislation for the relief 
of Greene's widow, 298 ; his 
opinion of Greene, 66, 231, 316. 

Harlem Heights, engagement 
at, 46, 48. 

Hampton, Colonel Wade, at 
Eutaw Springs, 273, 274 ; at 
Dorchester, 283. 

Henderson, Colonel, temporarily 
in command of Sumter's par- 
tisans, 266, 270 ; wounded at 
Eutaw Springs, 273. 

High Hills of Santee, encamp- 
ment at, 237, 261, 264, 266, 
275, 2B1, 282. 

Hobkirk's Hill, battle of, 239. 

Howe, Admiral, Lord, at New- 
port, no. 

Howe, General Sir William, 
British commander in chief at 
Boston, 30 ; at New York, 35 ; 
at Long Island, 42 ; at Kip's 
Bay, 45 ; at White Plains, 50 ; 
at Fort Washington, 56 ; ma- 
noeuvres in New Jersey, 77 ; 
moves to the Chesapeake, 77 ; 
victory at Brandywine, 82 ; 
enters Philadelphia, 85 ; vic- 
tory at Germantown, 87 ; 
superseded by Clinton, 99. 



Huger, General Isaac, com- 
mands detachment in South- 
ern army, 184, 194, 198, 200, 
246. 

Jefferson, Governor Thomas, ar- 
rangements for supplying the 
Southern army, 170, 173, 204- 
206, 248, 255. 

Kentish Guards, organized by 
Greene and others, 6, 17 ; 
marches to Boston, 18. 

King's Mountain, battle of, 181. 

Kip's Bay, engagement at, 45, 
46. 

Kirkwood, Major Robert, com- 
mands the Delaware battalion 
at'Guilford, 217, 219, 220; at 
Hobkirk's Hill, 239, 240 ; at 
Ninety-Six, 251, 258 ; at Eu- 
taw Springs, 270, 274. 

Knox, General Henry, visit of 
Greene to his bookstore, 17 ; 
chief of artillery at New York, 
36 ; examines defenses at 
West Point, 67 ; protests 
against being superseded by 
Du Coudray, 71, 72, 74, 75 ; at 
Valley Forge, 94 ; member of 
board to try Andre, 155. 

Kosciusko, Colonel Thaddeus, 
engineer of the Southern 
army, selects camp on the 
Pedee River, 176 ; constructs 
earthworks at the crossing of 
the Dan, 202 ; makes recon- 
noissanceat Ninety-Six, 253; 
wounded in a sortie, 256 ; se- 
lects camp at Round O, 284. 



326 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Lafayette, Marquis, joins the 
army, 79 ; gallantry at the 
battle of Brandywine, 83 ; at 
Valley Forge, 94 ; at Mon- 
mouth, 100, loi ; ordered to 
Newport, 106 ; in the opera- 
tions at Newport, 111-114, 
116, 117 ; returns to France, 
120 ; in operations against 
New York, 142 ; member of 
board to try Andre, 155 ; 
applies to be ordered with 
Greene, 169 ; in command 
in Virginia, 230, 233, 246, 
247, 278 ; his action in pur- 
chasing clothing for his sol- 
diers in Baltimore, 299 ; edu- 
cates Greene's son in France, 
302. 

Laurens, Colonel John, aid-de- 
camp to Washington at Val- 
ley Forge, 94, 96 ; meets 
D'Estaing at Sandy Hook, 
105 ; applies to be ordered to 
the South with Greene, 169 ; 
in front of Charleston, 285, 
291 ; death of, 285. 

Lawson, General Robert, com- 
mands brigade of Virginia 
militia at Guilford, 217. 

Lee, General Charles, at Bos- 
ton, 25 ; at Long Island, 36 ; 
criticisms on the fall of Fort 
"Washington, 58 ; sends Colo- 
nel Malmedy to Rhode Island, 
70 ; rejoins the army at Val- 
ley Forge, 99, 100 ; on the 
march to Monmouth, loi ; his 
conduct at Monmouth, 102 ; 
end of his career, loi, 103. 



Lee, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry, 
remarks about the battle of 
Germantown, 90 ; ordered to 
the Southern army, 169, 179 ; 
arrives at Charlotte, 176 ; in 
the retreat to the Dan, 194, 
197, 199, 202-204 ; Jn pur- 
suit of Cornwallis, 205 ; cap- 
tures Pyle's detachment, 206, 
207 ; skirmish with Tarleton, 
209 ; at the battle of Guilford, 
211, 212, 214, 216, 217, 222, 
224 ; pursues Cornwallis 
toward the coast, 229 ; advice 
concerning carrying the war 
into South Carolina, 231 ; ad- 
vances into South Carolina, 
232-234 ; at the capture of 
Fort Watson, 236, 239 ; cap- 
tures Fort Granby, 243 ; cap- 
tures Fort Gal])in, 250 ; cap- 
tures Augusta, 251 ; arrives at 
Ninety-Six, 251 ; at the siege 
of Ninety-Six, 256, 258, 259 ; 
pursues Rawdon, 260 ; com- 
ments on the Southern cam- 
paign, 203, 264 ; at Eutaw 
Springs, 270, 272, 273 ; in 
front of Charleston, 284, 285, 
291 ; obtains leave of absence 
and marries, 288 ; his opinion 
of Greene, 313. 

Leslie, General Alexander, at 
Harlem Heights, 46 ; arrives 
in Virginia, 171 ; sails to 
Charleston, 178, 1O2 ; marches 
to join Cornwallis, 186, 192 ; 
at Guilford, 215, 217 ; takes 
command at Charleston, 284 ; 
proposes cessation of hostili- 



INDEX. 



327 



ties, 2gi ; evacuates Charles- 
ton, 292. 

Lincoln, General Benjamin, ap- 
pointed major-general, 76 ; 
in command at the South, 
130, 163 ; surrenders at 
Charleston, 164, 166 ; ordered 
to march to the Hudson after 
the fall of Yorktown, 277 ; his 
advice about marching to 
Charleston, 280. 

Luzerne, Minister of France, 
correspondence with Greene, 
242, 247. 

Lynch, Colonel Charles, com- 
mands Virginia riflemen at 
Guilford, 217, 219, 220. 

Magaw, Colonel Robert, com- 
mands at Fort Washington, 

53. 57- 
Maham Tower, used at Fort 
Watson, 236 ; at Fort Corn- 
wallis, 251 ; at Ninety-Six, 

254, 257- 

Mahan, Captain Alfred T., com- 
nients on the French fleet at 
Newport, no. 

Marion, General Francis, quali- 
ties as a partisan chief, 169, 
176; attacks Georgetown, 185; 
captures Fort Watson, 232, 
234-236 ; marches to Camden, 
239; captures Fort Motte, 243; 
off"ers to resign, 248, 249; sends 
couriers to Greene at Ninety- 
Six, 254 ; joins Greene at 
Fort Granby, 261 ; at Eutaw 
Springs, 270, 275. 

Marjoribanks, Major, at the bat- 



tle of Eutaw Springs, 272-274, 
276. 

McGowan's ford, passage of, 195. 

Middlebrook, winter camp at, 
133. 

Monmouth, battle of, ror. 

Morgan, General Daniel, joins 
Greene in East Jersey, 92 ; at 
the South, 169, 179 ; ordered 
to western South Carolina, 
184-186 ; gains a victory at 
the Cowpens, 187-190 ; re- 
treats to North Carolina, 191- 
196, 198 ; resigns, 199. 

Morris, Robert, Superintendent 
of Finance, authorizes bills to 
be drawn on him to provide 
funds for the support of South- 
ern army, 267 ; correspond- 
ence with Greene, 267 ; opin- 
ion of Greene, 282 ; leaves 
the Southern army to be sup- 
ported by the Southern States, 
289 ; sends agent with small 
amount of money, 292 ; ap- 
proves Greene's arrangements 
for feeding and clothing the 
army, 300 ; correspondence 
with Greene concerning po- 
litical questions, 308. 

Morristown, winter camp at, 65, 
129, 135- 

Newport, operations at, 106. 
Ninety-Six, siege of, 249. 

O'Hara, General Charles, in the 
pursuit to the Dan, 202 ; at 
Guilford, 215, 219, 220 ; 
wounded, 221, 222. 



328 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Phillips, General William, expe- 
dition to Virginia, 233 ; Corn- 
wallis's letter to him, 244. 

Pickens, General Andrew, par- 
tisan chief, 169, 176, 180 ; 
sent to raise militia at Char- 
lotte, 201, 204 ; pursues Corn- 
wallis, 206 ; captures Pyle's 
detachment, 207, 208 ; skir- 
mish with Tarleton, 209 ; at 
Guilford, 211 ; sent against 
Ninety-Six, 232 ; captures 
Augusta, 250, 251 ; at Nine- 
ty-Six, 255, 262 ; at Eutaw 
Springs, 270. 

Pitt, William, speech on the 
battle of Guilford, 226. 

Princeton, engagement at, 64. 

Putnam, General Israel, ap- 
pointed major general, 25 ; 
at New York, 43, 46 ; at Har- 
lem Heights, 48 ; at Peeks- 
kill, 91. 

Pyle, Colonel, captured with his 
detachment, 207, 209. 

Ramsay, Dr. David, historian, 
opinion of Greene, 282. 

Rawdon, Colonel, Lord, second 
in command at the South, 177, 
178 ; at Camden, 234, 237, 
238 ; gains victory at Hob- 
kirk's Hill, 239-242 ; retreats 
from Camden, 243 ; receives 
re-enforcements at Charles- 
ton, 254, 255 ; marches to 
Ninety. Six, 256; relieves 
Ninety-Six, 259 ; retreats from 
Ninety-Six, 260, 261 ; cap- 
tured by De Grasse, 262. 



Reed, Governor Joseph, secretary 
to Washington at Boston, 24 ; 
praises condition of Greene's 
troops, 24 ; conduct at Har- 
lem Heights, 49 ; visits Val- 
ley Forge as member of Con- 
gress, 96 ; persuades Greene 
to accept office of Quarter- 
master General, 97 ; Governor 
of Pennsylvania, 133 ; corre- 
spondence with Greene, 133, 
169, 242. 

Rochambeau, General, Count, 
arrives at Newport, 142 ; 
meets Washington at Hart- 
ford, 151, 153 ; proposed as 
arbitrator in case of Andre, 
156 ; movements of his army 
after the fall of Yorktown, 
277, 281. 

Rodney, Admiral Sir George 
B., destroys De Grasse's fleet, 
280. 

Rutledge, Governor John, ar- 
rives at Greene's camp, 175 ; 
takes measures to restore civil 
government in South Caro- 
lina, 265 ; fails to secure sub- 
scriptions for Morris's bank, 
266, 267 ; endeavors to secure 
re-enforcements from York- 
town, 277, 279 ; convenes 
Legislature and eulogizes 
Greene, 280. 

St. Clair, General, member of 
board to try Andre, 155 ; or- 
dered to re-enforce Greene 
after fall of Yorktown, 277 ; 
arrives in front of Charleston, 



V 



INDEX. 



329 



284 ; obtains leave of absence, 
288. 

Savannah, siege of, 162 ; cap- 
tured by Wayne, 285. 

Schuyler, General Philip, ap- 
pointed major general, 25 ; 
sends re-enforcements to 
Washington, 62 ; member of 
Congress, 132 ; goes to Wash- 
ington's camp to consult with 
him about Quartermaster's 
Department, 136, 137, 141 ; 
Greene's letter to him, 143 ; 
persuades Greene to remain 
temporarily as quartermaster 
general, 145 ; his report to 
Congress, 146. 

Sheridan, Major, at the battle of 
Eutaw Springs, 273. 

Sherman, General W. T., corre- 
spondence with Grant in 1864, 

295- 

Smallwood, General William, 
commands Maryland militia 
at Germantown, 86. 

Spencer, General Joseph, at Bos- 
ton, 25 ; at Harlem, 43, 45 ; 
sent to Rhode Island, 70, 106 ; 
resigns, 106. 

Springfield, engagement at, 140. 

Stedman, Charles, British histo- 
rian, comments on the battle 
of Guilford, 224 ; on the suc- 
cess of Greene's operations in 
the South, 264. 

Stephen, General Adam, ap- 
pointed major general, 76 ; at 
Germantown, 86, 87 ; dis- 
missed, 87. 

Steuben, General, Baron, arrives 



at VaHey Forge, 95 ; appoint- 
ed inspector general and drills 
the squads, 96 ; member of 
board to try Andre, 155 ; or- 
dered to the Southern army 
with Greene, 168, i6g ; stops 
at Mount Vernon, 170 ; ap- 
pointed to command in Vir- 
ginia, 171 ; endeavors to send 
re-enforcements to Greene, 
176, 204, 205 ; letters from 
Greene, 205, 233, 246. 

Stewart, Lieut.-Colonel Alex- 
ander, commands the second 
battalion of Guards at Guil- 
ford, 220; killed, 221, 224. 

Stiles, Rev. Ezra, gives Greene 
advice about the choice of 
books, 7. 

Stirling, General, Earl of, ap- 
pointed major general, 76 ; 
at Germantown, 86 ; at Mon- 
mouth, 102 ; member of board 
to try Andre, 155. 

Stony Point, capture of, 120. 

Stuart, Lieutenant-Colonel John, 
succeeds Rawdon in command 
at the South, 262 ; defeated at 
Eutaw Springs, 269 ; retreats 
toward Charleston, 273 ; at 
Dorchester, 283. 

Sullivan, General John, ap- 
pointed brigadier general, 
25 ; at Boston, 30 ; at Tren- 
ton, 62 ; protests against ap- 
pointment by Du Coudray, 
71, 74 ; at Brandywine, 81- 
85 ; at Germantown, 86-88 ; 
in command in Rhode Isl- 
and, 106, 107 ; meets D'Es- 



GENERAL GREENE. 



taing, log ; advances against 
Newport, no, ill ; publishes 
order reflecting on the French, 
113; retreats from Newport, 
114; fights at Butt's Hill, 115, 
117 ; defeats Indians in New 
York and Pennsylvania, 120 ; 
Greene defends his conduct at 
Newport, 121, 122. 

Sumner, General Jethro, brings 
re-enforcements from Vir- 
ginia, 265 ; at Eutaw Springs, 
270, 272. 

Sumter, General Thomas, par- 
tisan chief, 169, 176 ; ordered 
to threaten Ninety-Six, 201 ; 
ordered to be prepared to join 
Greene at Camden, 232 ; fails 
to comply with his instruc- 
tions, 238 ; captures Orange- 
burg, 243 ; protests against 
capture of Fort Granby by 
Lee and regular troops, 247, 
248 ; fails to obey instructions 
for retarding Rawdon's ad- 
vance, 255 ; joins Greene at 
Fort Granby, 261 ; leaves his 
command without authority, 
265, 266 ; at Dorchester, 283 ; 
opposes legislation for the re- 
lief of Greene's widow, 298. 

Tarleton, Colonel Banastre, in 
command of British Legion, 
178; ordered to attack Mor- 
gan, 185, 186 ; advances 
against Morgan, 187 ; defeat- 
ed at the Cowpens, 188 ; pur- 
sues Morgan, 195-197 ; com- 
ments on Greene's retreat to 



the Dan, 203 ; advances to 
meet Pyle's detachment, 207 ; 
manoeuvres near Guilford, 
211 ; wounded in skirmish 
with Lee, 216; at Guilford, 
218, 224 ; raiding in Virginia, 
248, 281. 
Trenton, battle of, 62. 

Valley Forge, camp at, 94, lOO. 

Varnum, General James M., 
friend of Greene in his youth, 
14, 15 ; elected captain in 
Kentish Guards, 17, 18 ; ap- 
pointed Colonel Third Rhode 
Island Regiment, ig ; arrives 
at Boston, 23 ; joins Greene 
in East Jersey, gi ; at Valley 
Forge, 95 ; ordered to New- 
port, 106 ; at Butt's Hill, 
115 ; member of Congress, 



Wadsworth, Jeremiah, letter 
from Washington to him con- 
cerning Greene's connection 
with Banks, 302. 

Ward, Governor Samuel, promi- 
nence in Rhode Island poli- 
tics, 13, 16 ; delegate to Con- 
tinental Congress, 16 ; influ- 
ence in securing Greene's ap- 
pointment to command Rhode 
Island troops, 20 ; correspond- 
ence with Greene, 24, 28, 30 ; 
death of, 37. 

Ward, Major Samuel, Jr., friend 
of Greene in his youth, 14 ; 
elected captain in Rhode 
Island regiment, 19 ; volun- 



INDEX. 



331 



teers to join expedition to 
Quebec and is taken prisoner, 
2S ; at Valley Forge, 95 ; at 
Newport, 115. 
Washington, General George, 
takes command at Boston, 24 ; 
his first meeting with Greene, 
25 ; captures Boston, 30 ; 
marches to New York, 34 ; 
his skill in retreating from 
Long Island, 42 ; in action at 
Kip's Bay, 46 ; fights battle 
of Harlem Heights, 47 ; ma- 
noeuvres toward White Plains 
and thence to the Hudson, 
50 ; his instructions to Greene 
concerning Fort Washington, 
53 ; his share of responsibility 
for the disaster, 58 ; retreats 
through New Jersey, 61 ; his 
brilliant success at Trenton, 
62 ; arrives at Morristown, 
65 ; protests against appoint- 
ment of Du Coudray, 71 ; 
marches to Delaware, 78 ; 
makes reconnoissance with 
Greene and Lafayette, 80 ; 
fights battle of Brandywine, 
81 ; of Germantown, 85 ; goes 
into camp at Valley Forge, 
94 ; persuades Greene to ac- 
cept position of Quartermaster 
General, 97 ; fights battle of 
Monmouth, loi ; reproves 
Greene, 104 ; sends detacli- 
ment to Rhode Island, 106 ; 
his comments on the failure 
of the Rhode Island Expedi- 
tion, 116; goes into winter 
quarters at Middlebrook, 123 ; 



account of his expenses dur- 
ing the war, 128 ; his opinion 
of Greene's service while 
Quartermaster General, 131, 
151, 152, 158 ; plans an at- 
tack on New York, 142 ; or- 
ders Greene to remain as 
Quartermaster General, 143 ; 
writes to Congress giving his 
opinion of Greene, 149, 151; 
meets Rochambeau at Hart- 
ford, 153 ; approves sentence 
against Andre, 155 ; orders 
Greene to West Point, 159 ; 
assigns him to command the 
Southern army, 160 ; his rela- 
tions with Greene, 161, 171 ; 
his instructions to Greene, 
166 ; writes to Greene approv- 
ing his operations, 264, 277 ; 
corresponds with Greene con- 
cerning an attack on Charles- 
ton, 278 ; tries to persuade 
De Grasse to undertake an 
expedition against Charleston, 
279 ; orders re-enforcements 
to Greene, 281 ; writes to 
Greene on the close of the 
Southern campaign, 293 ; his 
comments on the charges 
against Greene in connection 
with Banks, 302 ; offers to 
educate Greene's eldest son, 
302 ; meets Greene for the 
last time, 303 ; approves 
Greene's decision in declining 
the duel with Captain Gunn, 
307 ; his opinion concerning 
the loss sustained by Greene's 
death, 316. 



332 



GENERAL GREENE. 



Washington, Martha, joins her 
husband at Boston, 28 ; at 
Morristown, 67 ; at Valley 
Forge, 94; at Middlebrook, 
123, 128 ; receives Greene at 
Mount Vernon, 170. 

Washington, Colonel William, 
cavalry leader, 169 ; ordered 
to join Morgan, 183 ; at the 
Cowpens, 187-189 ; in the 
retreat to the Dan, 202, 204 ; 
at Guilford, 211, 213, 214, 217, 
221, 222, 224 ; at Hobkirk's 
Hill, 239-241 ; at Eutaw 
Springs, 270, 272 ; at Dor- 
chester, 283. 

Wayne, General Anthony, at 
Brandywine, 82 ; at German- 
town, 87, 88 ; at Monmouth, 
100-103 i storms Stony Point, 
120; marches to Virginia, 
233 ; conquers Georgia, 284, 
285 ; presented with an estate 
by the Legislature of Georgia, 
287 ; exonerates Greene in his 



transactions with Banks, 300, 
301 ; settles on a plantation 
in Georgia, 311 ; at Greene's 
deathbed, 312 ; his opinion of 
Greene, 313. 

Webster, Lieutenant - Colonel 
James, commands brigade at 
Guilford, 211, 215, 217-219; 
killed, 220, 224. 

Williams, Colonel Otho H., in 
command of rear guard dur- 
ing retreat to the Dan, 201, 
202 ; captures Pyle's detach- 
ment, 209; at Guilford, 211- 
213, 220, 221 ; at Eutaw 
Springs, 270, 272 ; at Dor- 
chester, 283 ; obtains leave of 
absence, 288. 

Williams, Roger, founder of 
Rhode Island, 1-3, 21. 

Yorktown, battle of, 278 ; its 
relation to Eutaw Springs and 
the Southern campaign, 277, 
279, 280. 



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r^ENERAL TAYLOR. By Major-General O. O. 

^<~^ Howard, U. S. A. With Portrait and Maps. 

" No one is better qualified for writing a bio^aphy of the hero of Buena Vista than 
General Howard. His work can not disappoint his friends. The chapters relating 
to the Mexican War are especially good, and the sadly brief story of Taylor's presi- 
dency is told with soldierly simplicity and feeling." — Philadelphia Bulletin. 

f^ENERAL JACKSON. By James Parton. With 

>— ' Portrait and Maps. 

The last literary work of James Parton, completed just before his death, 
was the preparation of this volume. It is a model miniature biography, 
possessing throughout all the interest of a romance. 



The following are in press or in preparation : General WASHING- 
TON, by General Bradley T. Johnson ; General GREENE, by Captain 
Francis V. Greene ; General SHERMAN, by General Manning F. 
Force ; General GRANT, by General James Grant Wilson ; Gen- 
eral SCOTT, by General Marcus J. Wright; Admiral PORTER, by 
James Russell Soley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy ; General LEE, 
by General Fitzhugh Lee; General JOHNSTON, by Robert M. 
HtjoHES, of Virginia ; General GEORGE H. THOMAS, by Dr. Henry 
Coppee, late U. S. A.; General HANCOCK, by General Francis 
H. Walker ; General SHERIDAN, by General Henry E. Davies. 

It is believed that these biographies will form a notable addition to every 
American library, and furnish a valuable and impartial source of reference 
to the student of our military and naval history. 

Each, i2mo ; cloth, gilt top, $1.50. 



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" This work marks an epoch in the history-writing 
of this country." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 




^HE HOUSEHOLD HIS- 
TORY OF THE UNITED 
STA TES AND ITS PEOPLE. 
For Young Americans. By Ed- 
ward Eggleston. Richly illus- 
^^J&S'SS'"" trated with 350 Drawings, 75 Maps, 

COLONIAL COURT-HOUSE. ctc. Squaic 8vo. Cloth, $2.50. 

PHILADELPHIA, 1707. 

FROM THE PREFACE. 
The present work is meant, in the first instance, for the young;— not alone 
for boys and girls, but for young men and women who have yet to make 
themselves famihar with the more important features of their country's 
history. By a book for the young is meant one in which the author studies to 
make his statements clear and exphcit, in which curious and picturesque de- 
tails are inserted, and in which the writer does not neglect such anecdotes as 
lend the charm of a human and personal interest to the broader facts of the 
nation's story. That history is often tiresome to the young is not so much 
the fault of history as of a false method of writing by which one contrives 
to relate events without sympathy or imagination, without narrative connec- 
tion or animation. The attempt to master vague and general records of 
kiln-dried facts is certain to beget in the ordinary reader a repulsion from 
the study of history— one of the very most important of all studies for its 
widening influence on general culture. 





" Fills a decided gap which has existed for 
the past twenty years in American historical 
literature. The work is admirably planned 
and executed, and will at once take its place as 
a standard record of the life, growth, and de- 
velopment of the nation. It is profusely and 
beautifully illustrated." — Boston Transcript. 

"The book in its new dress makes a much 
' finer appearance than _ 

before, and will be wel- ^^SlS 
corned by older readers 

as gladly as its predeces- ind;an'8 TRAP, 

sor was greeted by girls 

and boys. The lavish use the publishers have made of colored 
plates, woodcuts, and photographic reproductions, gives an un- 
wonted piquancy to the printed page, catching the eye as surely 
as the text engages the mind." — New York Critic. 

" The author writes history as a story. It can 'never be 
less than that. The book will enlist the interest of young 
people, enlighten their understanding, and by the glow of its 
statements fix the great events of the country firmly in the 
SENEBAL PUTNAM. mind."— 5a« Francisco Bulletin. 



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'HE REAR-GUARD OF THE REVOLUTION. 

By James R. Gilmore (Edmund Kirke). With Portrait of 
John Sevier, and Map. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. 

'' The Rear-Giiard of the Revolution " is a narrative of the adventures of the 
pioneers that first crossed the Alleghanies and settled in what is now Tennessee, under 
the leadership of two remarkable men, James Robertson and John Sevier. The title 
of the book is derived from the fact that a body of hardy volunteers, under the leader- 
ship of Sevier, crossed the mountains, and by their timely arrival secured the defeat 
of the British army at King's Mountain. 



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OHN SEVIER AS A COMMONWEALTH- 
BUILDER. A Sequel to "The Rear-Guard of the Revo- 
lution." By James R. Gilmore (Edmund Kirke), i2mo. 
Cloth, $1.50. 

John Sevier was among the pioneers who settled the region in Eastern Tennessee. 
He was the founder of the State of Franklin, which afterward became Tennessee, and 
was the first Governor of the State. His innumerable battles with the Indians, his re- 
markable exploits, his address and genius for leadership, render his career one of the 
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HE ADVANCE-GUARD OF WESTERN 
CIVILIZATION. By James R. Gilmore (Edmund Kirke). 
With Map, and Portrait of James Robertson. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. 

This work is in a measure a continuation of the thrilling story told by the author in 
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as a Commonwealth-Builder." The three volumes together cover, says the author 
in his preface, "a neglected period of American history, and they disclose facts well 
worthy the attention of historians — namely, that these Western men turned the tide 
of the American Revolution, and subsequently raved the newly-formed Union from 
disruption, and thereby made possible our present great republic." 



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HE TWO SPIES: Nathan Hale and John Andr/. 
By Benson J. Lossing, LL. D. Illustrated with Pen-and-ink 
Sketches. Containing also Anna Seward's " Monody on Major 
Andre." Square 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, $2.00. 

Illustrated by nearly thirty engravings of portraits, bui'd-ngs, sketches by Andrfi, 
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D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

'ISTOR Y OF THE PEOPLE 

OF THE UNITED STA TES, from 
the Revolution to the Civil War. By 
John Bach McMaster. To be com- 
pleted in five volumes. Vols. I, II, 
and III now ready. 8vo, cloth, gilt 
top, $2.50 each. 

In the course of this narrative much is written 
of wars, conspiracies, and rebellions ; of Presi- 
dents, of Congresses, of embassies, of treaties, 
of the ambition of political leaders, and of the 
rise of great parties in the nation. Yet the his- 
tory of the people is the chief theme. At every 
stage of the splendid progress which separates the 
America of Washington and Adams from the 
JOHN BACH MC MASTER. America in which we live, it has been the au- 
thor's purpose to describe the dress, the occupa- 
tions, the amusements, the literary canons of the times ; to note the changes 
of manners and morals ; to trace the growth of that humane spirit which 
abolished punishment for debt, and reformed the discipline of prisons and 
of jails ; to recount the manifold improvements which, in a thousand ways, 
have multiplied the conveniences of life and ministered to the happiness of 
our race ; to describe the rise and progress of that long series of mechanical 
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peace, there sprang up, in the course of a single century, a prosperity unpar- 
alleled in the annals of human affairs. 

"The pledge given by Mr. McMaster, that 'the history of the people shall be the 
chief theme,' is punctiliously and satisfactorily fulfilled. He carries out his promise in 
a complete, vivid, and delightful way. We should add that the literary execution of 
the work is worthy of the indefatigable industry and unceasing vigilance with which 
the stores of historical material have been accumulated, weighed, and sifted. The 
cardinal qualities of style, lucidity, animation, and energy, are everywhere present. 
Seldom indeed has a book in which matter of substantial value has been so happily 
united to attractiveness of form been offered by an American author to his fellow- 
citizens." — New York Sun. 

" To recount the marvelous progress of the American people, to describe their life, 
their literature, their occupations, their amusements, is Mr. ^IcMaster's object. His 
theme is an important one, and we congratulate him on his success. It has rarely been 
our province to notice a book with so many excellences and so few defects." — New York 
Herald. 

" Mr. McMaster at once shows his grasp of the various themes and his special 
capacity as a historian of the people. His aim is high, but he hits the mark," — 
New York Journal 0/ Commerce. 

". . . The author's pages abound, too, with illustrations of the best kind of histori- 
cal work, that of unearthing hidden sources of information and employing them, not 
after the modem style of historical writing, in a mere report, but with the true artistic 
method, in a well-digested narrative. ... If Mr. McMaster finishes his work in the 
spirit and with the thoroughness and skill with which it has begun, it will take its place 
among the classics of American literature." — Christian Union. 



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D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

/IB RAH AM LINCOLN: The True Story of a Great 
■*^ LIFE. By William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik. 
With numerous Illustrations. New and revised edition, with 
an introduction by Horace White. In two volumes. i2mo. 
Cloth, $3.00. 
This is probably the most intimate hfe of Lincoln ever written. The 
book, by Linooln's law-partner, William H. Herndon, and his friend Jesse 
W. Weik, shows us Lincoln the man. It is a true picture of his surround- 
ings and influences and acts. It is not an attempt to construct a political 
history, with Lincoln often in the background, nor is it an effort to apotheo- 
size the American who stands first in our history next to Washington. The 
writers knew Lincoln intimately. Their book is the result of unreserved 
association. There is no attempt to portray the man as other than he really 
was, and on this account their frank testimony must be accepted, and their 
biography must take permanent rank as the best and most illuminating study 
of Lincoln's character and personality. Their story, simply told, relieved 
by characteristic anecdotes, and vivid with local color, will be found a fasci- 
nating work. 

" Truly, they who wish to know Lincoln as he really was must read the biography 
of him written by his friend and law-partner, W. H. Herndon. This book was im- 
peratively needed to brush aside the rank growth of myth and legend which was 
threatening to hide the real lineaments of Lincoln from the eyes of posterity. On one 
pretext or another, but usually upon the plea that he was the central figure of a great 
historical picture, most of his self-appointed biographers have, by suppressing a part 
of the truth and magnifying or embellishing the rest, produced portraits which those of 
Lincoln's contemporaries who knew him best are scarcely able to recognize. There is, 
on the other hand, no doubt alraut the faithfulness of Mr. Herndon's delineation. The 
marks of unflinching veracity are patent in every line." — New York Sun. 

"Among the books which ought most emphatically to have been written must be 
classed ' Herndon's Lincoln.' " — Chicago Inier-Ocean. 

" The author has his own notion of what a biography should be, and it is simple 
enough. The story should tell all, plainly and even bluntly. Mr. Herndon is naturally 
a very direct writer, and he has been industrious in gathering material. Whether an 
incident happened before or behind the scenes, is all the same to him. He gives it 
without artifice or apology. He describes the Ufe of his friend Lincohi just as he saw 
it." — Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. 

" A remarkable piece of literary achievement— remarkable alike for its fidelity to 
facts, its fullness of details, its constructive skill, and its literary charm." — Neiu York 
Times. 

" It will always remain the authentic life of Abraham Lincoln." — Chicago Herald. 

"The book is a valuable depository of anecdotes, innumerable and characteristic 
It has every claim to the proud boast of being the ' true story of a great life.' " — Phila- 
delphia Ledger. 

" Will be accepted as the best biography yet written of the great President." — 
Chicago Inter-Ocean. 

" Mr. White claims that, as a portraiture of the man Lincoln, Mr. Herndon's work 
'will never be surpassed.' Certainly it has never been equaled yet, and this new edi- 
tion is all that could be desired." — New York Observer. 

" The three portraits of Lincoln are the best that exist ; and not the least charac- 
teristic of these, the Lincoln of the Douglas debates, has never before been engraved. 
. . . Herndon's narrative gives, as nothing else is likely to give, the material from 
which we may form a true picture of the man from infancy to maturity." — The Nation. 



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D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 
A PPLETONS' CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN 

•^J- BIOGRAPHY. Complete in six volumes, royal 8vo, contain- 
ing about 800 pages each. With sixty-one fine steel portraits 
and some two thousand smaller vignette portraits and views of 
birthplaces, residences, statues, etc. 

Appletons' Cvclop^dia of American Biography, edited by Gen- 
eral James Grant Wilson, President of the New York Genealogical and 
Biographical Society, and Professor John Fiske, formerly of Harvard Uni- 
versity, assisted by over two hundred special contributors, contains a 
biographical sketch of every person eminent in American civil and military 
history, in law and politics, in divinity, in literature and art, in science and 
in invention. Its plan embraces all the countries of North and South 
America, and includes distinguished persons born abroad, but related to 
American history. As events are always connected with persons, it affords 
a complete compendium of American history in every branch of human 
achievement. An exhaustive topical and analytical Index enables the reader 
to follow the history of any subject with great readiness. 

" It is the most complete volume that exists on the subject. The tone and guiding 
spirit of the book are certainly very fair, and show a mind bent on a discriminate, just, 
and proper treatment of its subject." — From the Hon. George Bancroft. 

" The portraits are remarkably good. To anyone interested in Amercan history 
or literature, the Cyclopaedia will be indispensable." — From the Hon. James Russell 

LOWELU 

"The selection of names seems to be liberal and just. The portraits, so far as I can 
judge, are faithful, and the biographies trustworthy." — From Noah Pokier, D. D., 
LL. D., ex-President 0/ Yale College. 

"A most valuable and interesting work." — From the Hon. Wm. E. Gladstone. 

"I have examined it with great interest and great gratification. It is a noble work, 
and does enviable credit to its editors and publishers." — From the Hon. Robert C. 

WiNTHROP. 

" I have carefully examined ' Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography,' and 
do not hesitate to commend it to favor. It is admirably adapted to use in the family 
and the schools, and is so cheap as to come within the reach of all classes of readers 
and students." — Frotn ]. B. Foraker, ex-Governor of Ohio. 

" This book of American biography has come to me with a most unusual charm. It 
sets before us the faces of great Americans, both men and women, and gives us a per- 
spective view of their lives. Where so many noble and great have lived and wrought, 
one is encouraged to believe the soil from which they sprang, the air they breathed, and 
the sky over their heads, to be the best this world affords, and one says, ' Thank God, 
1 also am an American ! ' We have many books of biography, but I have seen none 
so ample, so clear-cut, and breathing so strongly the best spirit of our native land. No 
young man or woman can fail to find among these ample pages some model worthy of 
imitation." — From Frances E. Willard, Fresicient N. IV. C. T. U. 

" I congratulate you on the beauty of the volume, and the thoroughness of the 
work." — From the Rev. Phillips Brooks, D. D. 

" Every day's use of this admirable work confirms me in regard to its comprehen- 
siveness and accuracy." — From Charles Dudlev Wahner. 

Price, per volume, cloth or buckram, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half calf or half mo- 
rocco, $7.00. Sold only by subscription. Descriptive circular, -with specimen pagts, 
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THAN ALLEN. The Robin Hood of Vermont. 

By Henry Hall. i2mo. Cloth, $i.oa 

The aim of the author has been to depict Allen's personality, and to 
throw some new light upon the character of one who has been often vio- 
lently assailed. Allen's own letters have been freely drawn upon. The 
mass of material which has been examined has included matter not utilized 
before, and the result is an impartial and careful picture of Allen's associa- 
tions, and habits of thought and action, which, it is believed, can not be 
neglected by Americans interested in the history of their own country. 

" A spirited account of a forcible and influential character in our colonial and Revolu- 
tionary history. Ethan Allen certainly was a picturesque figure in his day, and his 
chcckeved career would afford a good foundation for a sensational novel." — Congre- 
gatiotialist. 

" A welcome addition to American historical literature. The hero of Ticonderoga 
lives again in this graphic portrayal of the incidents and adventures of his eventful 
life. Ethan Allen is one of the most picturesque of the sturdy patriots of Revolution- 
ary days. . . . Accurate to the last degree, and told in bright, telling language, the 
stoi-y should be widely read by the young, who may gather from the perusal of the 
book patriotic inspiration, and see how to live in touch with one's times and answer 
their demands. " — New York Observer. 

"Ethan Allen was not a polished drawing-room knight or a pious churchman. He 
swore terribly, and he was looked upon as a dangerous atheist. But no one now 
thinks of the manners or the piety of the man who, with eighty-three men, entered 
Fort Ticonderoga and summoned the British commander of the garrison to sur- 
render. " — Philadelphia Bulletin. 

"A brief, sketchy, lively, entertaining biography of one of the most remarkable 
men in our early national history. . . ." — Chicago Times. 



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HE PRLVATE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM 

MACLA Y, United States Senator from Pemisylvania, 1789- 
1791. With Portrait from Original Miniature. Edited by 
Edgar S. Maclay, A.M. Large 8vo. Cloth, $2.25. 

" In Mr. Maclay's time sessions of the Senate were held with closed doors, and the 
authentic records we have of its proceedings are meager. As Mr. Maclay's journal is 
concerned almost wholly with the proceedings of this body, its value as a record be- 
comes very great. Students of the period must henceforth include it among their 
valuable sources of original information. The circumstances in which it was written 
give it peculiar value. Mr. Maclay wrote while his knowledge was still fresh and 
clear." — New York Times. 

" So meager are the official reports of the doings of the first Congress after the 
adoption of the Constitution, that Mr. Maclay's journal must always be of great 
historical value. While Senator, he recorded in his journal each evening the proceed- 
ings of the day, and these records, many of them voluminous, give the book its 
value." — New York Herald. 

" No elaborate book on the political and social status of a hundred years ago can 
begin to equal in interest the present one, with its daily fresh pictures — plainly pro- 
jected upon the writer's journal for his own mental relief — of the bad manners and bad 
political and other morals of his fellow-legislators, such as leave to politicians of our 
day quite a balance often of propriety in any comparison that may be made. It is a 
mine as well of political faith and proposed practice in plain democratic methods, ante- 
dating nearly all the political doctrine that Jefferson is celebrated for as the founder of 
Jeffersonian, Madisonian, and Jacksonian Democracy." — Brooklyn Eagle. 



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'HE SOVEREIGNS AND COURTS OE 

EUROPE. The Home and Court Life and Characteristics of 
the Reigning Families. By " Politikos." With many Por- 
traits. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. 

" A remarkably able book. . . . A great deal of the inner history of Europe is to be 
found in the work, and it is illustrated by admirable portraits." — The AthencEutn. 

" Its chief merit is that it gives a new view of several sovereigns. . . . The anony- 
mous author seems to have sources of information that are not open to the foreign 
correspondents who generally try to convey the impression that they are on terms of 
intimacy with royalty." — San Francisco Chronicle. 

"A most entertaining volume, which is evidently the work of a singularly well-in- 
formed writer. The vivid descriptions of the home and court life of the various royalties 
convey exactly the knowledge of character and the means of a personal estimate which 
will be valued by intelligent readers." — Toronto Mail. 

" The anonymous author of these sketches of the reigning sovereigns of Europe 
appears to have gathered a good deal of curious information about their private lives, 
manners, and customs, and has certainly in several instances had access to unusual 
sources. The result is a volume which furnishes views of the kings and queens con- 
cerned, farfuUer and more intimate than can be found elsewhere." — JVew York Tribunt. 

"... A book that would give the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth 
(so far as such comprehensive accuracy is possible), about these exalted personages, so 
often heard about but so seldom seen by ordinary mortals, was a desideratum, and this 
book seems well fitted to satisfy the demand. The author is a well-known writer on 
questions indicated by his pseudonym." — Montreal Gazette. 

" A very handy book of reference. ' — Boston Transcript. 



M 



V CANADIAN JO URNAI, iS'j2-':S. By Lady 

DuFFERiN, author of " Our Vice-Regal Life in India." Extracts 
from letters home written while Lord Dufferin was Governor- 
General of Canada. With Portrait, Map, and Illustrations from 
sketches by Lord Dufferin. i2mo. Cloth, $2.00. 

"A graphic and intensely interesting portraiture of out-door life in the Dominion, 
and will become, we are confident, one of the standard works on the Dominion. . . . 
It is a charming volume." — Boston Traveller. 

" In every place and under every condition of circumstances the Marchioness shows 
herself to be a true lady, without reference to her title. Her book is most entertaining, 
and the abounding good-humor of every page must stir a sympathetic spirit in its read- 
ers. ' ' — Philadelphia Bulletin. 

"A very pleasantly written record of social functions in which the author was the 
leading figure ; and many distinguished persons, Americans as well as Canadians, pass 
across the gayly decorated stage. The author is a careful observer, and jots down her 
impressions of people and their ways with a frankness that is at once entertaining and 
amusing. " — Book-Buyer. 

"The many readers of Lady Dufferin's Journal of" Our Vice-Regal Life in India" 
will welcome this similar record from the same vivacious pen, although it concerns a 
period antecedent to the other, and takes one back many years. The book consists of 
extracts from letters written home by Lady Dufferin to her friends (her mother chiefly), 
while her husband was Governor General of Canada; and describes her experiences in 
the same chatty and charming style with which readers were before made familiar."—- 
Cincinnati Commercial- Gazette. 



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D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 



'HE HISTORICAL REFERENCE-BOOK, com- 
prising a Chronological Table of Universal History, a Chrono- 
logical Dictionary of Universal History, a Biographical Dic- 
tionary. With Geographical Notes. For the use of Students, 
Teachers, and Readers. By Louis Heilprin. Third edition, 
revised and brought down to 1892. Crown 8vo. 569 pages. 
Half leather, $3.00. 

" One of the most complete, compact, and valuable works of reference yet pro- 
duced." — Troy Daily Times. 

" Unequaled in its field." — Boston Courier. 

" A small library in itself." — Chicago Dial. 

" An invaluable book of reference, useful alike to the student and the general reader. 
The arrangement could scarcely be better or more convenient." — New 'i'ork Herald. 

"The conspectus of the world's history is as full as the wisest terseness could put 
within the space." — Philaddphia American. 

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able to detect a single mistake or misprint." — New York Nation. 

" So far as we have tested the accuracy of the present work we have found it with- 
out flaw." — Christian Union. 

"The conspicuous merits of the work are condensation and accuracy. These points 
alone should suffice to give the ' Historical Reference-Book ' a place in every public 
and private library." — Boston Beacon. 

"The method of the tabulation is admirable for ready reference." — New York 
Home yournal. 

"This cyclopaedia of condensed knowledge is a work that will speedily become a 
necessity to the general reader as well as to the sludenl."— Detroit Free J-ress. 

" For clearness, correctness, and the readiness with which the reader can find the 
information of which he is in search, the volume is far in advance of any work of its 
kind with which we are acquainted." — Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. 

" The geographical notes zuhich accompany the historical incidents are a novel 
addition, and exceedingly help/id. The size also commends it, making it convenient 
for constant reference, while the three divisions and careful elimination of minor and 
uninteresting incidents make it much easier to find dates and events about which ac- 
curacy is necessary. Sir William Hamilton avers that too retentive a memory tends 
to hinder the development of the judgment by presenting too much for decision. A 
work like this is thus better than memory. It is a ' mental larder' which needs no care, 
and whose contents are ever available." — New York University Quarterly. 



/J CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF UNIVERSAL 

-^^ HISTORY. Extending from the Earliest Times to the Year 

1892. For the use of Students, Teachers, and Readers. By 

Louis Heilprin. i2mo. 200 pages. Cloth, $1.25. 

This is one of the three sections comprised in Heilprin's "Historical 

Reference-Book, " bound separately for convenience of those who may not 

require the entire volume. Specimen pages sent on request. 

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D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

]\/fAN AND THE STATE. Studies in Applied 
-i 'J- Sociology. Popular Lectures and Discussions before the Brook- 
lyn Ethical Association. Practical Issues of Current Politics 
Scientifically Treated — Tariff, Finance, City Government, Immi- 
gration, the Race Problem, etc. With complete Index. Large 
i2mo. Cloth, $2.00. 

CONTENTS. 

1. The Duty of a Public Spirit. By E. BENJAMIN ANDREWS, D. D,, 

LL. D., President of Brown University. 

2. The Study of Applied Sociology. By ROBERT G. EcCLES, M. D., Vice- 

President of the Brooklyn Ethical Association. 

3. Representative Government. By Edwin D. Mead, Editor of the New 

England Magazine. 

4. Suffrage and the Ballot. By Daniel S. Remsen, Counselor-at-Law. 

5. The Land Problem. By Prof. Otis T. Mason, President of the Ameri- 

can Folk-Lore Society. 

6. The Problem of City Government. By Dr. Lewis G. Janes, President 

of the Brooklyn Ethical Association. 

7. Taxation and Revenue: The Free-Trade View. By Thomas G. 

Shearman, Counselor-at-Law. 

8. Taxation and Revenue : The Protectionist View. By Prof. George 

Gunton, President of the College of Social Economics. 

9. The Monetary Problem. By William Potts, Vice-President of the 

Continental Trust Company. 

10. The Immigration Problem. By Z. Sidney Sampson, Counselor-at-Law. 

11. Evolution of the Afric- American. By Rev. Samuel J. Barrows, 

Editor of the Christian Register. 

12. The Race Problem in the South. By Prof. Joseph Le Conte, President 

of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

13. Education and Citizenship. By Rev. John W. Chadwick, author of 

" Charles Darwin," etc. 

14. The Democratic Party. By Edward M. Shepard, author of the " Life 

of Martin Van Buren," etc. 

15. The Republican Party. By Hon. ROSWELL G. HORR, formerly Member 

of Congress from Michigan. 

16. The Independent i7i Politics. By John A. Taylor, author of " Evolu- 

tion of the State," etc. 

17. Moral Questions in Politics. By Rev. JOHN C. KiMBALL, author of 

" Evolution of Arms and Armor," etc. 

"/i noble scheme. Such lectures and discussions are Just what is 
needed."— ionii Fiske. 



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HE DIARY OF AN IDLE WOMAN IN 

CONSTANTINOPLE. By Frances Elliot, author of 

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New Popular Edition of Leahy's England and Ireland. 

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HE POLITICAL VALUE OF HISTORY. By 

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